Psychic Unnatural: Reawakening
by amaven
Summary: Lady's adventures continue into the Apocalypse. Dean/OC
1. Lazarus Rising Part 1, Sept 2008

**A/N: **_This is a continuation of 'Psychic Unnatural'. Lady is an OC with some unique story lines of her own. I'm trying to write these chapters so you don't have to read the previous story to understand, though if you enjoy these chapters you'll like the first part of the story. I update weekly, mostly on the weekends.  
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**September 18, 2008**

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota**

Bobby examined his glass of whiskey and tried to remember if this was drink number seven or eleven, or if he had even been counting to begin with. He brought the glass to his lips and paused before taking the drink. He wasn't sure if he had been toasting his drinks before, but he thought this drink deserved a toast. Not in celebrating, but in mourning. He knew a hell of a lot about mourning. What should he mourn this drink? His liver probably deserved it, though that would be in pity more than mourning as the liver hadn't offed itself...yet. Then of course there was Dean, who four months ago had been torn up by a hellhound. Or Sam, who was around doing god knows what god knows where, lost without his older brother. But no, while he wished Dean was still with the living and Sam wasn't running suicide missions looking for vengeance, the toast wouldn't go to the Winchesters. Not this one at least.

"To you, kid," Bobby uttered before drinking his whiskey.

Eleven years ago Bobby, along with John Winchester, rescued a teenage girl from being sacrificed by a black witch. She called herself Lady, but she had always been 'Kid' to him. He felt so bad for her. She was pretty, even after all the black witch had put her through. Just sixteen years old, on her own hustling on the streets of Las Vegas. Even though he had just saved her life he wished he had been able to do more for her. Maybe he didn't have kids of his own but he always had a soft spot for them, and a small girl like Lady being on her own fending for herself never sit well with him.

The ritual that Lady was being sacrificed for had been interrupted by her rescuers, and the backlash of magical energy that was released hit her full force. Immediately following her rescue there were no side affects, but after a few months she discovered she had some psychic abilities. Lady could see short glimpses into the future, see what people did before they did it, hear what they were going to say before they said it. And she got infrequent visions further into the future. Discovering she had those abilities led her back into Bobby and John's lives. John introduced her to a friend of his, another psychic by the name of Missouri.

After a while with Missouri Lady also discovered that not only had the coven left her with the knowledge of the Latin language, psychic abilities, and a tattoo on her right wrist, but they had also left a deadly curse in her. The curse started making her ill, and Bobby started a race to cure her of it. It wasn't until Lady met a Native American medicine woman that she found relief from her curse many years later.

Though Bobby didn't wholeheartedly agree, he helped Lady become a witch hunter so she could track down other members of the coven. And she became damn good at it.

Just three years ago John Winchester asked her for a small favor, to use her cursed blood to perform a ritual that would help him with his hunt for the Yellow-Eyed demon. And then she agreed to meet his sons, Sam and Dean, to keep them off of John's trail. From there shit hit the fan several times. John died, demons ran amok, problems with hunters, warlocks, witches, vampires, a Trickster, a Goddess, spirits…you know, typical day in the life of a hunter.

Lady went through some rough tumbles, but had always pulled through. Sometimes she needed help, but she always bounced back. However after the worst year she'd been through it now seemed she'd be spending the rest of her days in the nut house.

These days they called them Mental Health Facilities. But still a nut house. About a month earlier Lady had apparently failed a ritual, and afterwards she had been unresponsive. She'd drool and look at things, but that was the best she'd do. After a few weeks she might whimper, but mostly would scream if anyone touched her. It was painful seeing his friend, who was full of arrogance and pride, in that state. He forced himself to drive to Elgin, Illinois once a week to see her, it was his attempt to balance the guilt he felt for leaving her in the hands of a nut house.

But Lady was making progress. His friend Pamela Barnes, also a psychic, promised him that. She held the belief that one day Lady would be able to communicate again. Although nothing short of a miracle would get Lady back to her old self. Pamela also provided the invaluable service of checking in with Bobby to let him know how Lady was.

Bobby was pouring the last shot out of a bottle when his phone rang. "What?" he barked into the phone.

"Bobby, it's me," Pamela said. "I hope you haven't been drinking tonight."

"Not a drop," he lied smoothly.

"Mmhm," Pamela chuckled. "I just finished my session with Lady. Seems Sam was here earlier today."

"You see him?" Bobby asked.

"No, he was long gone before I got here. Anyway, Lady was very irritable. Agitated, nearly violent. They hit her with a sedative to keep her pleasant," Pamela said.

Bobby groaned. On occasion, and frequently, something set Lady off. Since she couldn't, or wouldn't, speak they didn't know exactly what. But she'd throw some sort of fit, give a nurse a black eye or bloody lip, hurt herself in some other manner. It was best to knock her out with drugs early before she could wreak havoc with one of her tantrums.

"Those other times she had to be sedated, those were when Sam was visiting too?" Bobby said slowly to make sure his speech didn't slur.

"I'm not sure, but I want to meet this guy. Any reaction out of Lady is something we need and if he's the cause maybe he can help us," Pamela said.

"Well he ain't gonna pick up the phone for me," Bobby sighed miserably. But he thought to himself if Sam had been in Elgin earlier that day he couldn't be too far. "Let me get some sleep. I'll drive up in the morning."

"Call me when you get here."

Bobby drank his last shot, and threw the bottle in the garbage. It crashed loudly against two other empty liquor bottles, then promptly passed out.

**September 19, 2008**

Bobby was taking care of a few things before leaving for Illinois. He was too occupied making sure he had his house prepared for a day with him away that he didn't hear a car pull up into the lot. The sound of someone knocking on the door surprised him, but didn't have him overly concerned. But since he was a paranoid bastard he still answered it while holding a knife behind his back. And he was very startled to see Dean Winchester, the same one that had been mauled to death just four months ago, standing there.

After a short scuffle Dean proved to him that he wasn't a shapeshifter, ghoul, or demon. He was real, alive, himself.

"But…this don't make any sense," Bobby uttered, looking at Dean with disbelief still.

"Yeah, yeah you're preachin' to the choir," Dean said, his lip twitching in amusement.

"Dean, your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop. And you've been buried for over four months. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meat suit…" Bobby couldn't even imagine what shape a body would be in at that time.

"I know, I should look like a Thriller video reject," Dean agreed.

Bobby took a few moments and then asked, "What do you remember?"

Dean looked off to the side, needing a moment to think about what exactly he remembered since the last time he drew a breath.

XXXXX

**Day One in Hell**

"SAM! SAMMY!" Dean shouted until his voice cracked. "LADY! HELP ME, SOMEBODY OH GOD HELP ME!"

He thought he had prepared himself…but nothing really prepared you for hell. Not the real thing. So far nothing had touched him, but he was bound in chains and meat hooks, and he could see and hear. Other souls crying out for help…and he could hear the demons. They were enjoying the suffering, and they were looking forward to his turn. There was nothing they liked more than fresh meat.

**Day 100 in Hell**

Demons looked different in hell. Sure, some were just puffs of black smoke. But others appeared human, or at least humanoid. Others look like horrendous monsters. Things he had never even imagined could exist. Just looking at some of them were enough to drive him into temporary insanity.

Alistair always made sure Dean's sanity returned in order to continue the torture. Carving away slices of the flesh of his soul, all the while talking calmly to him. Dean tried to hold back the screams, but he couldn't help it. All day Alistair worked him over until there was nothing left…and then he'd be healed. For a few moments the pain was gone, there was physical relief, but never emotional relief. Always there was some form of torture pout on him.

"Dean, should you wish to get off the rack I can make an arrangement. All you have to do is take my place, and start torturing other souls," Alistair offered him.

Dean understood hell well enough. It was torture, constant torture, until he was something exactly like Alistair. Slowly, and so very painfully, Alistair was stripping away bits of his humanity. And the trip would be so much quicker if Dean picked up the knife and just gave in. But he had never been one for taking the easy road. "Stick it where the sun shines you son of a bitch," he replied roughly.

**Year 5 in Hell**

Counting the days helped Dean keep his sanity. Five years, every day the same thing, same thing but different. Alistair could get creative, and he wasn't the only demon doing the torturing. But what it came down to was hell wasn't much different than prison. Chained to the slab and then just waiting for the preferred method of torture for the day. At the end of the day, even if Alistair wasn't the one doing the torture, he went to visit Dean and make the same offer.

Hell never sleeps. Sort of like an evil version of New York City. But Dean always had a short break between torture sessions. That break was torture in itself because all he could do was wait for the pain to start again. And the only thing he had to look forward to during his torture was that brief moment of relief when he was healed. Today the break was longer than usual.

Lilith was there to visit. "Alistair," she said in a curt and rather cute girly voice.

"Lilith," Alistair's voice was a deeper rumble.

Lilith appeared in hell as a young and sweet blonde girl, the same girl Dean had witnessed her possess. "Why hasn't he broken yet?"

"Well it's not for lack of trying, that's for sure," Alistair replied.

"I'm tired of waiting," Lilith said, sounding like a young girl prepared to throw a tantrum. With a huff of fire and brimstone she approached Dean. "Comfy?"

"Not really," Dean said in a low voice.

Lilith picked up a rusted and bloodstained instrument, "I understand you've refused Alistair's offers. Why?"

"Blow me, bitch," Dean said.

Lilith smiled at him, unnatural green eyes glowing as she plunged the metal instrument into his stomach.

Dean was unable to scream, his breath was gone immediately and blood filled his throat to choke him. With a flick of her wrist the instrument shifted inside him and he could feel his innards being mixed with each other. His breath returned and he let out a gurgling scream of pain.

"That was messy," Alistair commented, obviously unimpressed by Lilith's method of torture.

"Does that hurt, Dean?" Lilith's eyes began to glitter and she giggled happily. "I did the same thing to your brother, but he died before he could tell me."

"No…" Dean grunted. He had feared every day that Sam didn't escape alive, but refused to believe Sam was dead.

"Yes," Lilith said, stepping back. She looked at Alistair, "Hurry up with him, I'm tired of waiting."

**Year 25 in Hell**

Dean lost count of the days, but Alistair gladly picked up the slack for him. They had a party for Dean's Silver Jubilee, twenty-five years. Dean was the cake for all the demons in attendance.

As he was being torn apart he tried to lose himself in his mind. He tried to imagine twenty-five years. Sam and Lady were in their fifties now. Imagining their lives helped him endure the pain.

Sam would have found a nice woman by now. Maybe it was Erin. They'd have a few kids, a somewhat normal life. As for Lady he could only imagine her living with Bobby, the only man other than himself that would want to live with her. Bobby might be up there in years by now but Dean knew that old man was still kicking.

When Dean became quiet too long the demons had it figured out what he was doing and they would interrupt his imaginings by hissing in his ear. Telling him what they did to people he cared of, destroying wonderful visions.

**Year 30 in Hell**

"Thirty years, is it?" Alistair spoke conversationally as he put Dean's body back together.

Dean shuddered, after all these years his body was conditioned to feel pain just at the sound of Alistair's voice. Or maybe he could no longer feel the sweet relief that came with being healed. He didn't know. All he saw anymore was the color red, red blood, his own? He couldn't stand it. Constant torture for thirty years, even when Alistair made him whole he wasn't really whole. He never would be again.

"Dean," Alistair's voice is eerily calm as always. "You know, I can end this pain. All you have to do is take my place and start torturing others."

Every day for over thirty years Dean heard that offer, and every day told him to shove it. He used every insult he could think of, and even made up some new ones. But he was done. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't remember what his brother looked like, what Lady sounded like, what driving his car felt like. He didn't feel anything but the pain. All he saw and heard was pain, even in his own head. He was done. His will broken and shattered. "Yes," Dean rasped.

Alistair almost gleefully released Dean, "That's a good boy," he said, offering the tortured man a tool of torture. "Enjoy yourself."

Dean was led to another soul that was chained up. Already he was naked and half the flesh was gone. Dean looked at the knife he had in his hand, and then plunged it into the man's neck.

There was a chorus of demons, all of them chattering at once. It sounded like they were cheering. Dean understood the significance of him accepting Alistair's offer, it was going to rapidly take away his humanity and turn him into one of them. But at the same time it felt like he had won, he was finally off the rack.

**Year 31 in Hell**

Dean knew he should feel sick for what he did, but he had no empathy for the souls he was torturing. They had all made deals, like he had. At first he didn't like what he was doing, but all he knew was that the pain he had felt constantly for thirty years was beginning to fade away.

"It's about time he picked up the knife," Lilith said angrily to Alistair.

"Patience has its rewards," Alistair replied.

"Now we can really get to work," Lilith sounded pleased. "Get rid of him."

"Actually, I want to keep him," Alistair said. "He shows so much promise. His technique is coming along nicely."

Lilith nodded once, "Fine, keep him. Do whatever you want with him."

**Year 35 in Hell**

Dean could still feel the echoes of pain he had been put through, but with every piece he sliced off of another soul he felt it lift a little bit more. Until…

Until he goes back to remember what life before hell was like. Thinking about that brought the pain back to the front of his mind, but he didn't push it away. That was the kind of pain he didn't mind feeling, it was pain that helped him hold onto what little humanity he still had. In his mind the people he loved were still alive after all these years.

In his life before hell a demon, Ruby, told him she could remember what it was like to be human. Dean knew that souls that were in hell long enough turn into demons, and that was what he would turn into. He just wanted to be like her when he crawled out of hell as a black-eyed son of a bitch, he wanted to keep memories of being human. Maybe it hurt to remember, but it hurt so good.

**Year 40 in Hell**

Without warning hell erupted into chaos. A bright white light swooped through, burning through hordes of demons in a straight path to Dean.

Dean didn't try to move out of the way. If whatever it was meant to run right over him he would let it. But instead of being decimated it enveloped him.

The next thing he remembered he woke up in darkness. His chest ached until his sucked in a dry breath. It took a few seconds for him to realize he was alive. That he was in a body, his body.

Dean fought his way out of the pine box and climbed out of a shallow grave. He gasped for breath and squinted at the sunlight. For several minutes he just let himself bake under the sun. It was the most magnificent thing he had seen or felt in decades.

And then he stood up and looked around his grave site. He had been buried in a small clearing in the woods, but all the trees around him had been flattened down. They were all demolished in a fifty foot radius around where his coffin had been.

"Hello!" Dean called out, his voice rasping out of his bone-dry throat.

The sun began to make him sweat and he moved to wipe his forehead. The movement made the sunlight hit something that reflected. Dean furrowed his eyebrows as he reached for something that was hanging from his belt loop, a silver charm bracelet. He unhooked it and held it up so he could look over the various religious protect charms and then closed his fingers over it. Lady's charm bracelet, one that had been gifted to her by his father and she wore almost every day.

Dean quickly assessed his new situation. He was out of hell, in a body, alive, and not a demon. He didn't know how, but he knew Sam and Lady had to be behind it. He needed to find them, and after he thanked them he had to kick their ass for whatever mojo they pulled off because there was no way it could be good.

Discovering that it had only been four months, and not forty years, had been hard to believe at first but he quickly remembered that other planes of existence didn't necessarily follow a schedule that matched the real world. He walked until he found an out of the way gas station that was closed for the evening. Inside he got food and water, but also had a brief encounter with some sort of force that made the windows explode and electronics go haywire. Deciding he had no more time to waste he hot-wired a car, drove through the night, and reached Bobby's in the morning. After Bobby was sure Dean was human he asked the question, "So what do you remember?"

Dean had no memory issues, he remembered it all, but he could only lie. "Not much. I remember I was a Hellhound's chew toy, and then...lights out. Then I come to six feet under, that was it. Sam's number's not working. He's, uh... he's not..."

"He's alive," Bobby assured him quickly. "I haven't talked to him in months, but he's alive."

"Wait, months? You just let him go off by himself?" Dean asked, suddenly worried about Sam.

"These past few months haven't been easy, on anyone. We had to bury you, Dean," Bobby said, coming over the shock of Dean being resurrected and was fighting back a new stir of emotions. "He and Lady tried everything they could to bring you home."

Dean looked away and felt the silver charm bracelet safely tucked in his pocket, "Yeah, they got me home okay. Damn it, Lady," he uttered, trying to imagine what black magic she had dipped into.

"No, I uh…I doubt Lady had anything to do with it," Bobby said, looking at his feet.

Dean had a feeling Lady would have been the witch with the spell behind his awakening. "No, Bobby, she had to have done something. You should have seen the grave site, it was like a nuke went off. And check this out."

Bobby looked up as Dean showed him burned handprints on each of shoulders.

"What the hell?" Bobby uttered.

"Exactly. Some sort of freaky witchcraft," Dean said.

Bobby shook his head, "Uh…Dean…about Lady…" Bobby took a breath as he held Dean's attention. "She ain't been in any shape to be doing rituals lately. Past month she's been completely out of it."

Dean looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is…she's a resident at a mental health facility. Permanent resident. She did something a month ago, some ritual, it shorted out her brain. She's incoherent, lost in her head, or a total mind-wipe. We aren't exactly sure."

"Shit," Dean looked down. "You are sure?"

"Positive," Bobby said.

Dean quickly looked furious, "You put Lady in the nuthouse?"

"She couldn't even feed herself," Bobby said in defense. "I'm sorry, boy...I tried but I couldn't keep them together."

Dean took a few moments to reign in his emotions. "Okay, okay. Can you help me find Sam?"

"Yeah. Actually I was just about to start a new Sam hunt today. He was in Elgin, Illinois yesterday, can't be far."

"I just came from Illinois," Dean muttered. If Sam hadn't been far then it was very likely his brother was behind this.

**Pontiac, Illinois**

Sam looked up when a pretty and petite demon came into his hotel room. "Charming little motel you picked out," she smiled at him.

"Where have you been, Ruby?" he asked.

"Busy," she answered, her eyes following him as he stepped under a devil's trap and began pulling out some clean clothes. "Things are a little hectic out there, I haven't been able to pin down the demons."

"Hectic how?" he asked.

"Just hectic," she said. "I don't know, something is going on but I haven't been able to sort the bull from the facts."

Sam went still, a t-shirt in his hand as he stared at a map pinned on the wall.

"What's wrong, Sam?" Ruby asked in a friendly tone.

Sam let out a huff of breath, "There has to be a reason for them being here. I mean, Lilith killed Dean just 6 hours up the interstate. Lady is staying in Elgin three hours away. Dean is buried twenty miles away…there are just too many things…"

"Sam, things like that are easy to find if you look for them," Ruby said, trying to keep his mind off of his family. "Have you eaten today?"

"I'm not hungry," he muttered.

"I'll order a pizza," Ruby offered, stepping under the devils trap with him. She offered him a knife and her arm, "You need to keep up your strength, we demons to find."

Sam took what she offered, released her from the devil's trap, and then went into the bathroom to shower.

He had just finished his shower and was getting dressed when he heard a knock on the door, the pizza must be there. Ruby had already answered the door by the time he walked out and instead of a pizza guy he saw Bobby Singer and his dead brother Dean.

After a brief scuffle Sam became convinced that it was really Dean and not something monstrous. And as he embraced his brother it made sense, something big was nearby and Dean was alive, things were connected and they had to figure it out.

"So…guess I should probably go," Ruby said, looking at Dean and Bobby cautiously.

"Yeah, uh…bye, Kathy," Sam quickly said.

Ruby caught on. She didn't want the other hunters to know she was a demon anymore than Sam wanted them to know. The only person who did know was babbling in a mental hospital. "Yeah, call me sometime," she said.

Dean waited for the girl to leave before asking, "What did it cost?"

"The girl? I don't pay, Dean," Sam answered.

"That's funny," Dean said humorously. "Your deal. Did it cost your soul? Something worse?"

Sam understood, then shook his head. "I didn't make a deal, I don't know how you are back."

"There is no other way it could have happened," Dean said angrily.

"I tried to," Sam replied just as angrily. "I tried to! Lady and I both offered to trade places with you, but no demon would deal with us. We tried every damn ritual Lady could think of. I tried to open the Devil's Gate. But it didn't work. You were left rotting in hell and there was nothing we could do even…" Sam went quiet and blinked a few times.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"Lady knew," Sam uttered. "She knew you were coming back somehow. I figured she just snapped under the stress and couldn't tell a dream from a vision, but damn it maybe she really did know."

Bobby looked at Sam's hunched shoulders, "You saw her yesterday, didn't you? She in any shape to pull something off?"

Sam looked up, his eyes wide in surprise, "How did you know?"

"Because I'm smart," Bobby barked at him. "Answer the damn question."

Sam let out a breath and shook his head, "No, she seems better but far from capable."

"Let's go see her, make sure," Dean said.

Sam opened his mouth, then closed it. Sure it would be late by the time they reached Elgin, but he doubted visiting hours would keep them out. He suddenly wanted to protect Lady's vicious pride from being viewed like a zoo animal. "Nothing really to see, Dean," Sam decided to say.

"I say there is," Dean said firmly. Before that could be discussed further he asked Sam, "So what were you doing around here if you weren't digging me out of my grave?"

"I was on a case in Tennessee hunting a group of demons when out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here. I got here yesterday morning, I lost them. Visited Lady to make sure she was safe, now I've just been waiting for them to show their necks."

"Yesterday, when I busted out," Dean muttered. "Has to be connected."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I'm with you there."

Bobby stood up when his phone rang and he immediately noticed the phone number as Pamela's. "I'll be right back," he said, stepping out into the hallway so he could answer. "Yeah?"

"Bobby? Are you here yet?" Pamela asked, sounding stressed.

"I'm not far, just three hours or so," he answered. Pamela probably expected him to be there a few hours ago, but Dean coming back from the dead was a bit more important.

"I just got to the hospital, they have Lady jacketed and in a padded room, she's completely lost it. I need your help here," Pamela said with urgency.

"We're on our way," Bobby said.

"Who's we?" Pamela asked.

"Me, Sam, and Dean," Bobby answered.

"Wait. Sam, the untraceable kid. And Dean the dead guy?"

"Yup," Bobby grunted.

Pamela was silent for a moment before saying, "Okay, just hurry the hell up."


	2. Lazarus Rising Part 2, Sept 2008

**September 19, 2008**

Sam was unable to help but stare at his brother. It wasn't that hard to believe that Dean was alive again, not after all he had seen in his life. But at the same time it was a lot to take in. Emotions had been overwhelming earlier and still threatened to take over again.

"Dude, stop staring," Dean said, but unable to help himself he snorted a laugh. "I know, I look fantastic, don't I?"

"Yeah, well…for being dead four months, yeah," Sam said.

Sam looked away and out the window. Already Sam had filled Dean in on some of the things that happened immediately after his death. Such as Lilith being unable to kill him. And Dean had been quick to ask if any psychic abilities had come back, and Sam had been just as quick to lie. Something huge was at work in Illinois, and until they figured it out he had to be cautious around his own brother.

Dean let a slow smile spread across his face, "We get Lady back and things can just go back to how they were, Sammy."

Sam's eyes widened. Both he and Bobby had tried to warn Dean that Lady just wasn't herself. She was a wholly mess that needed 24/7 supervision and distance from sharp corners. "Dean…" Sam was unsure what to tell him to get him to understand, when Sam didn't fully understand himself. And Dean looked so damn happy to be out of hell and on the way to finish reuniting with his family.

When they first met Lady it was blatantly obvious there was a mutual attraction between her and Dean. The only thing stopping them from disappearing into a motel room immediately had been the poltergeist they were trying to get rid of. A few months later Sam noticed that Dean seemed to be interested in Lady for more than just sex and watched the relationship between them progress. It had actually been a frustrating thing as both of them were stubborn and emotionally guarded. But through it all they became a couple, and a surprisingly healthy couple. There were arguments, moments of jealousy, death and near-death experiences, a possession, and threats of murder, but mostly happy and healthy. Sam was worried because Dean had loved Lady, and there was no telling what his brother who just escaped hell might do when he saw the state she was in.

Dean had no worries as he pulled up to the mental facility. He was looking forward to seeing Lady. Memories of hell were as far back in his mind as he thought about her in preparation for their reunion. Long black-brown hair, silky and straight, slipping through his fingers and falling over her eyes. Her eyes, pale-blue, sometimes gray or silver, that glittered with mischief at the right moment. Her use of profanity and some of the crazy shit that came out of her mouth and how she'd fight a giggle but always end up laughing out loud.

It wasn't that Dean didn't understand Sam and Bobby's warnings. He had heard them just fine and he understood that Lady had gone through some difficult months after he had died. Just like Bobby had taken to drinking heavily daily and Sam had started slutting around. But after being pulled out of hell, which was supposed to be impossible, he quietly thought anything could happen.

Inside the facility Bobby led the way until he was stopped by a very attractive brunette. "Bobby!" Pamela called and hurried forward to greet Bobby in a big hug.

"Good to see you again," Bobby said as he returned the hug.

Pamela looked over the brothers, "Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual. Lady's told me about you."

"She did? She's talking?" Sam asked in confusion, surprise, and even a bit of hope.

"Not in a way you'd be able to hear her," Pamela said. Pamela turned to look at a closed door, "I know you all want to see her, why don't we get it over with?"

Dean led the way, opening the door and walking through without hesitation. He took two steps inside before stopping dead in his tracks. Lady was strapped down to a bed. She was wearing plain blue pajama pants that were so thin they were almost see-through, and a matching gown that tied in the back. The clothes were stained, a mix of mystery stains along with some that were obviously blood. Her head lolled back and forth, and even though it was obvious she was drugged she hadn't passed out. There were no long silky strands of hair, just dark fuzz around her skull. Her pale-blue eyes were blank and dull.

"She started getting belligerent last night," Pamela said softly. "To prevent an outburst they gave her some small doses of sedatives. Once those wore off she lost her mind…" Pamela frowned at Lady. "Lost her mind in the figurative sense, since she has already lost it in the literal sense."

"What'd she do to deserve this?" Sam asked, sounding confused.

"It's very easy to rile up the patients here. She ran up and down the halls, screaming bloody murder. Pretty soon she had a following. By the time I got here this evening everyone had been sedated. She was in a straight jacket still screaming. She managed to slip out of the jacket and tear apart half of a padded room with a paperclip she had hidden."

"You got something to say?" Bobby said gruffly, noticing an uncomfortable look on Sam's face.

"I was here yesterday," Sam admitted. "She was fine when I left. It's just…well I normally have a paperclip on my belt but I noticed yesterday it had fallen off. She couldn't have lifted it off of me, though."

"Lady's been a professional pick pocket since she was fifteen. She could pick both our pockets without us knowing," Dean said.

"Dean, look at her," Sam nodded toward Lady. "She's not capable of anything."

"She's capable of more than you know," Pamela said, smiling slyly as she got their full attention. "Her mind got a nice new whitewash, but she's still in there. Bits and pieces filter through to her, and some of it comes back out to me. And come on, I don't think one has to be psychic to know what set her off yesterday."

"Dean's resurrection," Bobby said.

"Mmhmm," Pamela nodded. "She felt it when Dean was resurrected. And right now she's playing a song in her head. Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire'." Pamela's eyes locked onto Dean's. "It's because she, somewhere in there, knows you are here. And she still has her zany sense of humor. I can tell she knows both Sam and Dean are here, and she likes that both of you are together."

"Great, so when does she come to all the way?" Dean asked.

Pamela looked at him sympathetically, "It isn't like that. Give me a few more months with her and I think I can help her start to speak. But make no mistake, there are parts of Lady that will never return. Time will tell what those will be."

"But you said that…" Dean began to argue.

"Yes, I said she is capable. But you misunderstood me. Let me tell you what happened to your girl, Dean. When meddling with supernatural forces there are dangers. Whatever she saw hurt her, scarred her so badly psychically that she's crawled inside and can't get out. I can't get her out, either. Pending a _miracle_, best thing we can do is give her time."

Dean looked sadly at Lady as Pamela's words hit home. Lady was barely recognizable as his quirky girlfriend. If anyone had the balls and was crazy enough to wield powerful magic to pull him out she was number one on his list, however…

"So if Lady couldn't have brought me back…" Dean muttered.

"Who, or what, did," Sam said.

"Maybe I can help," Pamela offered. "I might be able to chat up some spirits, or even try to summon whatever pulled him out."

"I'm willing to try anything," Dean said.

"Hm," Pamela turned to look at Lady, and then chuckled. "She's warning me not to touch you, Dean." Pamela turned and gave Dean a more-than-friendly grin, "Don't worry, I'll be a hundred percent professional."

XXXXX

Pamela had a strong amount of confidence in herself, and managed not to appear arrogant. She was sure in her abilities and knowledge, had the nerve to reach her limits. There was no doubt in her mind that she could discover what had pulled Dean out of the pit. And she did, at least partially. During a séance she discovered the creature's name was Castiel. But when she pressed to her limits to actually see Castiel her eyes burst into fire and melted right inside her head.

After that horrible sight the next thing she was aware of was being in the hospital. The pain in her eyes was there, as if someone had ground glass into her corneas, but she knew she had no eyes left. Even without her eyesight she knew she wasn't alone.

"Bobby?" Pamela breathed.

"I'm right here," he said.

"I know you are, you ass," she said weakly. "Just need you to listen. Lady was trying to warn me. This is what she saw coming, what she can't see past." Pamela was quiet for several moments before asking, "You are going after it, aren't you?"

Bobby put his hand on hers and squeezed it, "Got to do something. Just don't know what yet. Any clue what will kill this thing?"

"No, I don't know what it is. I've never…never seen anything…"

"It's okay, it's okay. Just rest up, get your strength back," Bobby said quickly.

"Bobby…be _careful_. And destroy that son of a bitch," Pamela said.

Pamela remained in the hospital. Little by little her eye sockets were healing. They were burned, almost perfectly cauterized. She wanted to kick the doctor who thought it was necessary to tell her she'd never see again. It didn't take a medical degree to figure that out. If she had been able to see where he had been standing she very well may have kicked him.

In her hospital room she sat up as she sensed Bobby returning to see her. "What happened?" she asked, not bothering with greeting him.

"You ain't going to believe it," Bobby uttered. "What do you think about angels?"

If Pamela wasn't psychic she would have thought Bobby was nuts. She let him finish telling her what happened when he and Dean summoned Castiel. While Bobby himself seemed unsure Pamela was bitter and convinced. "What are you guys getting yourselves into?" she asked him.

"I don't know," Bobby admitted. "But Castiel told Dean that its true visage, or something, was often too much for a mortal person to look on. When you did your séance you caught a glimpse…"

"You think?" Pamela snapped at him angrily. To say she was bitter at losing her eyes was an understatement. But at the same time it made sense to her. What she had seen had been impressive, giant, beautiful. Something beyond words to describe. And she had only been able to gaze upon it for a fraction of a second. In a way she knew she was lucky. It was very possibly she could have become a drooling mess like Lady.

"Now that we know, is there any way to use this information to help Lady?" Bobby asked.

Pamela shook her head slowly, "Up until fifteen minutes ago I didn't think angels existed. I don't know, Bobby. I just don't know."

"I'm sorry," Bobby said sincerely. "Get some rest. I'm going to check on Lady but then I need to do some research. I need to find out if this is real."

Pamela nodded once and laid back down on her pillows. After Bobby left she thought about Lady and her own problems. She let the knowledge settle in and began to think about what the world was coming to. Though she couldn't put her finger on exactly what she could sense something new in the air, and she didn't like it.

XXXXX

Dean stood over Lady's bed, a deep frown set in his face. She was still in her restraints but was sleeping. He was still trying to get he head around what Castiel was. And he wasn't sure he wanted to believe it. Maybe he wasn't positive Castiel was an angel, but he was pretty convinced Castiel was the reason Lady was holed up in the loony bin.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a strange reflection of light on the window and it interrupted his thoughts. He looked out at the moon, it was descending and soon the sun would replace it in the sky. His eyes searched for the source of the light until he saw a shallow scratch in the glass of the window. He knelt down so it was even with his eyes and his lips parted in surprise as he saw a small design scratched into the glass.

A wing.

Dean looked suspiciously at Lady. Perhaps the wing was there because she hated birds, but he doubted it.

"Dean, ready to go?" Sam asked, suddenly standing in the doorway.

Dean made his face appear smooth and normal, unsure if he should share Lady's rough artwork with Sam.

"Dean? You okay?" Sam asked.

"Uh, yeah…let's go," Dean said, walking out.

Sam walked beside him down the hall. Assuming Dean's odd mood was due to Lady's situation he said, "We did try to warn you but…"

"Yeah, I didn't listen, I get it," Dean said. "We're going to find a way to snap her out of it, though."

Sam nodded quickly, "Yeah, yeah of course."

Dean gave a short nod. Next time Castiel showed his neck Dean was going to be ready for him. If Castiel had the power to raise Dean from hell then he better have the power to put Lady back to how she was.


	3. Rise of the Witnesses, Sept 2008

Lilith frowned at the goblet filled with blood. One of her faithful minions had warned her that Dean Winchester had been raised from hell, and that the rumor was an angel had done it. Lilith had been prepared for that possibility and was sufficiently protected from angels. "It's fine. Dean Winchester won't be a problem much longer," she spoke into the goblet, using it like a cell phone between demons. "The witnesses are rising as we speak, soon there won't be any hunters left. Dean Winchester included."

**September 25, 2008**

Dean and Sam had been experiencing a busy few days. It had started with Bobby not receiving a few check-ins from hunters he normally heard from on a regular basis. Their bodies were found with their chests broken open. Bobby was back in South Dakota while Sam and Dean tried to find a few other hunters until they themselves were attacked by the spirit of Victor Henriksen. Positive that spirits were going after hunters, specifically spirits of victims the hunters couldn't rescue, they hurried back to South Dakota to regroup with Bobby. However, they had one other stop to make.

Lady was completely defenseless in her current state. They didn't think it was safe to have her with them, but at the same time she wasn't safe at the nuthouse.

They walked briskly through the hallways of the mental hospital to her room. "Do you have a plan?" Sam asked in a low voice.

"Why do we need a plan? We grab her, we leave. Simple," Dean said back.

"I don't think it's that simple, Dean. She can't leave and we aren't exactly her guardians," Sam replied.

"I'm making it that simple," Dean said as the reached her room. Lady was sitting beside the window, her finger tracing a light scratch in the design of an angel wing. "We're going on a road trip, Lady."

Before Sam could warn him not to Dean grabbed Lady by the wrist. The instant he did she began screaming bloody murder.

"You can't just grab her like that!" Sam shouted over her screams.

"What the hell!" Dean put his hands up and stepped back in shock.

"Lady, Lady, please calm down," Sam said, ducking down to be closer to her height and showing her open palms. He doubted she understood what he was saying but it made him feel better to say something.

"Shut her up, Sam," Dean said urgently, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before a nurse came in and kicked them out. "Lady, shut up and we can leave. It isn't safe here, we got to go," Dean said in a low growl.

Lady's screams died down to whimpers and so far they were lucky enough that a nurse hadn't rushed to see what was going on. Sam cautiously reached out to her, and waited several endless seconds until she lightly put her hand on his. "Okay, good," Sam said in a low and soothing voice as his fingers closed around her hand gently.

A nurse appeared in the doorway, "Excuse me, what are you two doing here?"

"Uh…just taking our sister for a walk," Sam said.

The nurse was a middle-aged woman with a slight Philippines accent, and was obviously suspicious at Sam's lie. Dean and Sam exchanged a brief look, silently communicating. They both didn't have the extra time to convince the nurse to let them leave with Lady, with an almost unnoticeable nod they agreed on a plan of action.

Sam easily lifted Lady into his arms while Dean pushed the nurse aside, and they then proceeded to run like hell out of the mental hospital as they kidnapped Lady.

**New Town, North Dakota**

Maxine Mason was a unique woman. She was exotically beautiful, rich red skin and long black hair from her Native American heritage. Her body was a bit thick with muscle and her height was over six feet tall to make her an intimidating presence.

Maxine had inherited the position of medicine woman from her great-great-great grandmother. No one knew exactly how old the woman had been before she finally died, but she had claimed to have met the Vikings when they landed on what was now American soil. With the role came a great deal of responsibility. Maxine had a great knowledge of natural remedies, she held secrets to Native American magic, and occasionally had visions. Mostly she considered herself a keeper of knowledge and protector.

Several years ago Maxine's baby sisters, twins Erin and Carrie, had been abducted witches. At that time Maxine was still an apprentice medicine woman and had felt rather helpless. A witch hunter calling herself Lady rescued Erin and Carrie, and that was how Maxine met and befriended the psychic. When Lady required hospitalization she helped provide a false identity with health insurance. Even though resources were wearing thin she wanted to make sure Lady was being cared for and was safe.

So when Maxine received a call that Lady had been abducted right from her hospital room by two men she quickly moved into action. She grabbed the duffel bag full of necessities that always sat packed and ready beside her door, along with a hunting rifle and pistol. She loaded into her truck drove on a roughly made prairie trail to her parent's house and she barged in without knocking.

Her mother Greta and sister Erin were in the kitchen preparing supper, and her brother Derek was in his wheelchair snacking while watching the women work. "Where is Dad?" Maxine demanded to know.

"He had to go to Beulah for the tribal council," Greta answered with a frown. "Something wrong, dear?"

"Uh…yeah," Maxine answered, then turned to leave.

"Wait a minute. Maxine, what's wrong?" Greta wiped her hands off on her apron and moved quickly to block her daughter's exit.

"I don't have time to waste, Mom. I…Lady was taken," Maxine said.

Greta covered her mouth with her hand on shock and horror. "Oh no," she gasped.

Erin stepped forward, "Who took her?"

"I doubt it's anyone good," Maxine said hotly. "I have to go. If I leave now I can be there in the morning."

"Wait, you can't go alone," Greta said.

Maxine gave her mother an irritated glare. She had wanted to take her father, Roy Mason. Even though her father was somewhat of a gentle giant, he towered at seven feet tall, she trusted him and his experience. But he was too far away to reach and she didn't want to waste any more time.

"I'll come with," Erin offered, already going to the closet and grabbing a stuffed backpack.

Maxine frowned, but nodded. She trusted Erin as much as she trusted her father.

"Wait, no. I'll go. You should take a man," Derek said. Erin, Maxine, and Greta all looked down at Derek in his wheelchair.

"Are you fucking serious?" Erin said flatly.

Greta promptly slapped the back of Erin's head, "Watch your language! And go get your father's shotgun."

The two women loaded back into Maxine's truck and drove into town, stopping only to fill up with gas. While Erin was at the pump Maxine stayed in the truck making a few phone calls.

"We should be good all the way to the border," Erin announced when she got back in the truck. "What's wrong now?"

Maxine had a deep frown on her face and was still holding her cell phone in her hand. "I went to call Bobby Singer, to let him know and get his help. He isn't answering his phone. Any of his phones."

"So?" Erin raised her eyebrows.

"You don't know him that well, it's not a good sign," Maxine murmured. "I tried calling the Harvelle's, they didn't answer."

"So we're on our own to find Lady," Erin said, and frowned at Maxine. "What are you thinking?"

"Bobby is closer, we wouldn't lose too much time stopping there. And something in my gut is telling me it's connected," Maxine said.

Erin nodded, "Well if there is one thing I trust it's your gut feelings. Let's go."

During the drive both Maxine and Erin took turns calling Bobby Singer. However neither of them were able to get through to the old hunter. Every mile they drove Maxine's gut wrenched tighter in concern.

XXXXX

When Sam and Dean reached Bobby's house they had all been assaulted by enough spirits to figure out what they were dealing with was an onslaught of vengeful spirits seemingly attacking hunters. Though they were still working on the why, and that was difficult to research while trying to keep Lady from getting in the way. Lady kept wandering into Bobby's kitchen and trying to open the cutlery draw where the knives were. Every few minutes someone had to carefully lead her back to the study but she would only sit and look out the window for a few brief moments before continuing her attempt to get sharp knives.

All three men went quiet and still when they heard the approaching truck. Lady made a babbling sound as she shuffled to the kitchen once again. Dean made a few brief hand gestures to Sam to tell him to keep Lady back and safe, while he and Bobby stood guard near the door.

"Bobby! Bobby, you in there?" A woman called.

Dean frowned and tilted his head, "You get a girlfriend?" He looked at Bobby in confusion.

Bobby gave him a brief glare before opening his door. Maxine and Erin were standing on his porch, both of them had hands on pistols. "Oh, you picked a bad time to come to visit." Bobby said roughly.

Maxine and Erin didn't even acknowledge Bobby's smart ass remark. Both of them were looking in stunned shock at Dean. Maxine recovered first and looked accusingly at Bobby, "You summoned his spirit?"

Bobby thumped Dean in the chest, "No spirit."

Dean grunted and rubbed his chest, "It's a long story," he said.

"An angel pulled him out of the pit," Bobby said.

"Well, put it that way it's not so long," Dean uttered.

Maxine straightened and looked over Dean cautiously, "Lady said you'd be back, but I had trouble believing her." Maxine looked back at Bobby, "She's why I'm here. I got a call from the hospital. Lady was abducted."

"Uh, yeah, that was us," Dean said.

Maxine looked past Dean to Sam who was leading Lady back to a chair beside the window. "I see what you mean by 'us,'" Maxine said.

Sam looked almost guiltily at Maxine and Erin. Dean smiled wide, though. "Hey, Sammy, look who came to visit."

"Hey, Erin," Sam said standing up straight as the women let themselves into Bobby's house.

Erin and Sam played a brief staring game. Sam wouldn't go far enough to call Erin a girlfriend. She understood his way of life and understood that he wasn't going to settle down in one area. But whenever they were together there was definitely a connection. Even though he hadn't seen her for months he had a very strong urge to pull her in a long hug, go into a long conversation to catch up, to share with her some of the excitement that his brother coming back to life gave him.

"So you finally came out of hiding, huh?" Erin said to him, not trying to hide the venom in her voice.

Sam looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I know…"

"You know jack shit," Erin snarled at him. "I called you a hundred times and you just shut your phone off! We didn't know where you were. If you were alive or dead!"

"My brother had just died," Sam said in defense.

Erin looked at Dean, then Lady who was leaning against the window and sticking her tongue against the glass, then back at Sam. "Well, we all know who got the short straw out of all of this."

"Erin," Maxine used a sharp tone with her sister that was quickly returned with a glare. But Erin complied and went quiet.

Dean looked curiously at Erin, but she stubbornly kept from looking at anyone.

Maxine gently cleared her throat. "Don't get me wrong, I am beyond surprised Dean is alive, but I'm still a bit pissed and confused that Lady was kidnapped. I understand visiting hours are a bit restrictive, but she really is better off in a facility than in a house full of sharp and deadly objects."

"That's another long story," Dean said stiffly.

"A ton of pissed off spirits are killing hunters, right now she's safer with us," Bobby said. Dean gave Bobby a slight glare that Bobby quickly returned. "It ain't like they need to be shielded from the truth. Fact is maybe they can even help. Why don't…" Bobby stopped talking when the temperature took a sudden nose dive. They had already survived several attacks on them by spirits, they were tired and they needed somewhere safe and quiet to figure out how to stop the attacks for good. "Okay, first we all need to go somewhere safe. Come on, follow me."

Bobby led the way, Maxine and Erin led Lady, while Sam and Dean covered the rear. They went down the steep basement steps and to an iron door that Bobby wrenched open. They all piled inside. Erin immediately went to keeping Lady passive and away from the cabinet of firearms.

Maxine slowly turned in a circle, along with Sam and Dean, admiring the room. It was circular and completely iron. "So this is why you asked for the scrap metal," she said.

"Solid iron," Sam said in admiration, putting a hand against a wall.

"Yup. And coated in salt. Completely ghost proof," Bobby said with a nod.

Sam and Dean got to work making rock-salt shotgun rounds while Bobby and Maxine both looked through books. Bobby filled Maxine and Erin in on what was happening, spirits of victims that hunters had been unable to save were coming back and slaughtering hunters. Other than that they had also seen a brand on the spirits and he was trying to discover it's relevance in one of the many books he had in the panic room they had locked themselves in.

"I found it," Bobby announced after an hour of searching. "It's the Mark of the Witness."

Maxine took the book when Bobby offered it to her, and her face fell.

"Witness? Witness of what?" Sam asked.

"The unnatural. None of them died what you'd call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They were like rabid dogs. It ain't their fault. Someone rose them... on purpose," Bobby said.

"Who would do that?" Erin asked. She had some very bad experiences of summoning and binding spirits, and knew it ended very badly. She couldn't understand who would dare play with those forces.

"I don't know. But whoever it was used a spell so powerful it left a mark, a brand on their souls. Whoever did this had big plans. It's called "the rising of the witnesses." It figures into an ancient prophecy," Bobby said, taking the book back from Maxine.

Dean saw Maxine's tense face and looked at Bobby. "What book is that prophecy from?" He asked.

"Revelations," Bobby answered. "It's a sign of the apocalypse."

Maxine flexed her fingers then rubbed her hands together, "Wow, you guys like those big fish jobs, huh?"

Dean looked at her with wide eyes, "Not this big. Okay, as far as we've seen no spirits have come after Lady. We cover you guys while you run for it."

"That's a bad idea," Maxine said. "You need me."

"We're trapped here, those spirits aren't going to let us get very far. You all have a chance," Sam said, keeping his eyes to the floor.

"We need her because there is a spell," Bobby said. He looked at Maxine seriously. Bobby wasn't half bad at spells and rituals, but he knew Maxine was the closest he could get to having a professional witch he was going to get. Lady was incapable of wearing shoes let alone setting up a spell. "Can you do it?"

"I need some time to plan and prepare," Maxine said, looking a bit nervous.

Maxine and Bobby worked together while Sam and Dean went back to filling shotgun shells. Sam was keeping his attention to his work until Dean nudged him with his toe. He looked up at his brother with his eyebrows raised. Dean silently looked at Sam, then pointedly toward Erin who was sitting on the cot with Lady, then back at Sam. Silently asking his brother what the hell had happened.

Sam sighed and shook his head, hoping his brother would take the hint that it wasn't his business. To be honest Sam hadn't done anything against Erin, he had just kept his distance which was more than enough to earn the cold shoulder.

It was late in the evening when Maxine and Bobby had a full plan. "If we translated this correctly we have everything in the house," Bobby said, not soundly too jolly about it.

"But not in this nice ghost-proof room, right?" Dean asked tensely.

"We move quickly I can finish this in ten minutes," Maxine said confidently. "Only thing is we have to do it in the study over the fireplace, we'll be out in the open."

"For at least ten minutes," Sam muttered.

They all worked on a final plan. Erin and Lady were to stay safe in the panic room while everyone else took their part in the ritual. Bobby was going to help Maxine prepare and keep her covered in case spirits started coming at them again, while Sam and Dean were each retrieving ingredients Maxine needed.

The spirits came at them in full force. Between rock salt blasting from shotguns, shouting, hollering, screaming, icy air, and only the light from the fireplace Maxine had difficulty performing the ritual. She had rarely been in high-stress situations like this, and never had been in the position where everything relied on her. Her hands trembled, but she kept her wits about her and finished the ritual. Maybe it took twice as long as she originally quoted them but they all survived.

With the ritual completed they all took a breath of relief before Sam pointed, "You got cut up by some glass, I think," he said to Maxine.

Maxine's arm had a long gash and now that the adrenaline rush was over she felt the stinging pain. She accepted the towel Bobby offered and applied pressure. "Looks bad. Want me to stitch it up for you?" Bobby offered.

"No, I'll have my uncle look at it," Maxine said.

"I'll get Erin, let her know the coast is clear," Dean offered.

Erin had forcefully restrained Lady the whole time, but once the danger was over Lady seemed to give up or calm down. She gave a start when the iron door of the panic room opened, but relaxed when she saw it was Dean and he looked like he had good news.

"Everything okay in here?" he asked.

"Yeah. Out there?" Erin questioned.

"All good," he said. Dean looked behind him toward the basement steps then back at her, "What's with the stink-eye towards Sam?"

Erin gave him a cold stare, "Nothing."

Dean shook his head, "No, it's something. I don't think Maxine would tell me."

"And you think I would?" Erin arched an eyebrow.

Dean shrugged, "Whatever it is it seems personal."

Erin looked at Lady almost guiltily, then back to Dean. "No, it isn't personal. You really want to know?"

"Yeah, I do," Dean answered.

"Lady spent over a month trying to find Sam. She tried everything she knew, plus things she never would have done normally. She got other hunters to help, put herself out there, really out there. Everything, for him. A day before she turns into this she puts out the word that she found Sam alive and well, calls off the search. Next time anyone sees her she's strapped to a hospital gurney unable to feed herself. And Sam was still no where to be found."

Dean swallowed hard. To say Erin was bitter would be an understatement. "Things weren't that simple."

"No, they never are," Erin said angrily. "If he had just stayed with her, maybe you'd have a girlfriend instead of someone who needs to be on a leash. Maybe I'd have my friend back. So I really hope whatever he was doing was more important than Lady's life."

Dean looked away. He knew what Sam had been doing, at least vaguely. He had been hunting Lilith for revenge. That was important, surely, but as important as Lady's life?

Erin helped Maxine clean the cut to her arm. "Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital in town?" Erin asked, not liking the look of the wound.

Maxine went back to applying pressure, "No, I want to get home as soon as possible. If this really is a sign of the apocalypse, well…"

"Well what?" Bobby asked roughly.

"Past couple of years I've felt something evil approaching, ever since I became a medicine woman," Maxine said. "If this is it then…I just don't know. I always thought it'd come in the form of something Lady was involved in."

"Speaking of Lady," Dean said in a low voice as he was putting back together a kitchen drawer he had torn apart earlier. "She kept coming to this drawer earlier. This is where we had half the ingredients for the ritual."

Maxine's eyes widened, "That's a good sign."

"A sign of what?" Dean asked.

"Any bit of recognition is a good sign," Maxine said. She looked to Bobby, "Is Pamela still working with her?"

Bobby made a face, "Not recently. Afraid Pamela is in the hospital still…her eyes were melted out of her head when she looked upon an angel."

Maxine looked back at Dean, "An angel? Really?"

Dean shrugged. Sam and Bobby seemed ready to accept it, but he was still unsure he wanted to believe it.

"You get home, do what you think you can. I want you to start checking in with me," Bobby told Maxine. "Let's stay in the loop until we figure out what is going on."

"Yeah, I can do that," Maxine agreed quickly.

Erin and Maxine packed up and began the drive back to North Dakota. Lady was given a large dose of sedative and strapped down to her bed for her own safety. The next day they would take her back to the mental facility, but before that they all needed to get some rest.

Dean woke up and found himself staring at Bobby's ceiling. Sam was sleeping on the couch soundly, but that didn't seem right to him. It took him a moment before he realized what had woken him, the sound of shuffling footsteps. He got to his feet quickly, already knowing he'd find Lady shuffling aimlessly around the kitchen and not that surprised she had managed to free herself. Lady was in the kitchen but she took soft steps right toward another figure with her. Dean ground his teeth when he recognized Castiel leaning casually against the kitchen counter.

Castiel tilted his head slightly as Lady approached. Her pale eyes met his for only a moment before wandering away. "You did this to her, you should fix her," Dean said in a low growl.

Castiel looked at him, his eyes wide and curious. "I did nothing to her."

That denial nearly made Dean's temper explode. "She's a psychic, she saw you. And it turned her into this!"

Castiel looked almost sympathetically at Lady. "You have my condolences."

"Cond...condolences?" Dean snarled. "I don't want your condolences, I want her back how she was."

Castiel looked at him evenly and sad, "No."

"I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos. Not dicks," Dean snapped.

"Read the bible," Castiel responded bluntly. "Angels are warriors of God. I am a soldier."

Dean nodded bitterly, he hadn't expected much from the angel but until he knew more about what they could do he was cautious of Castiel. "Yeah, so, then why didn't you fight? You know how many people died the past two days?"

Castiel nodded once, "The witnesses, yes, I know."

"You knew? And you just let them all die?" Dean asked angrily.

"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns. There are big things afoot," Castiel informed him.

Dean swallowed hard, "Do I want to know what kind of things?"

"I sincerely doubt it, but you need to know. The rising of the witnesses is one of the 66 seals. Those seals are being broken by Lilith," Castiel said.

Dean thought about it for a moment then nodded in understanding. "She did the spell. She rose the witnesses. She picked victims that the hunters couldn't save so that they would barrel right after us."

"Lilith has a certain sense of humor," Castiel said in a monotone.

"But we put those spirits back to rest," Dean said.

"It doesn't matter. The seal was broken," Castiel sighed and looked Dean right in the eye. "You think of the seals as locks on a door. When the last one is broken Lucifer walks free."

"Lucifer? But I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon Sunday school. There's no such thing," Dean said.

"Three days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me," Castiel said.

Dean ran a hand over his short hair, "So that's why you are here, to stop Lucifer," he uttered. Then bitterly he added, "Well, bang-up job so far. Stellar work with the witnesses."

Castiel straightened slightly and in a low almost menacing tone said, "We tried. And there are other battles, other seals. Some we'll win, some we'll lose. This one we lost. Our numbers are not unlimited. Six of my brothers died in the field this week. You think the armies of heaven Should just follow you around? There's a bigger picture here. You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in."

"Okay," Dean said. He had to remember Castiel was powerful enough to pull him out of hell and though it was painful he may get more out of the angel by being nice versus being a smart ass. "Okay, I get it. Bigger picture, apocalypse. Lucifer." Dean looked at Lady who had pressed herself into a corner and crouched down, her fingertips scratching at the short fuzz of hair on her head. "She can help, just fix whatever it was you did to her."

"I cannot," Castiel said.

"Bull shit!" Dean snarled.

Castiel's dark look kept Dean from pinning the angel down to the floor and kicking his ass. "I cannot assist her," Castiel said. "You are right, she was driven into madness because she saw an angel. That sort of sight cannot be unseen. She should have been more careful when looking into the unknown."

"She was looking for me, and instead she saw you," Dean said, guilt and blame mixing in his tone.

"It was not me she saw," Castiel said genty. "Looking into the future is not a safe practice and it is always changing, and I will pray that the future she saw will never come to fruition. She's been turned into this because she gazed upon Lucifer himself."

Dean's lips parted in surprise, then the next thing he knew he was back on his makeshift bed on the floor being woken up by Sam getting dressed.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked, noticing Dean looking strange.

Dean rubbed the back of his neck as he digested what had happened. Had Castiel only came to him in a dream? But Lady had been there. Had he lost a chunk of time or memory? He ignored his brother and got to his feet, taking fast steps down the hall to Lady's room. The sedatives had worn off and she was awake, staring blankly at the ceiling. The binds they had used to immobilizer her for her own safety were still in place.

Confused and unsure what had happened Dean went back out to the living room where Sam was sitting on the couch. And the last thing Castiel told him, that Lady had witnessed the Lucifer. Dean understood Lady's future sight better than anyone, except maybe Bobby, and if she had a vision of the devil he didn't know what hope they had. Or that she would ever have.

With a heavy sigh he looked at his brother, "Sam, you aren't going to believe this."

**A/N** - _Sorry for the long delay. __Normally I like to post once a week but had several delays with this chapter. The worst was the loss of my poor poor desktop that took it's last breath and along with it a few documents that were meant for this story. So I am sorry, I wrote this chapter at least 3 times, and this last time writing it I was rather sick of writing it, lol so it isn't up to my normal quality. But it was either this or another week or two. I'll try my best to get back to the normal once a week but the next few chapters I might need some extra time writing because there is a lot going on lately. But enjoy, thanks for reading!_


	4. Elgin Mental Health Center, Oct 2008

**October 1, 2008**

Richard and Amy Milton looked at the sign saying 'Elgin Mental Health Center' and fought the urge to get back into the car. However their daughter, Anna, was staring off into space. They knew by now that when her eyes grew distant like that she was hearing the 'voices' again. It broke their heart that she was suffering, and it hurt worse when they realized they were unable to help her.

Anna came out of her temporary trance and looked at her hands when she realized her parents had been watching her. "We're here, honey," her father said in a thick voice. "We don't have to..."

"I want to get better," she said, looking at him with wide brown eyes. "It's okay. They say they can help me here, I want to be here."

Her mother burst into sobs.

"Mom, please..." Anna fought her own tears.

Before Anna could help her mother reign in her emotions they were greeted by three people. A male doctor, and two female nurses. They were all friendly, they had been expecting them. They were all smiles as they talked about their methods of diagnosis and treatment. After a few hours Anna was in blue pajamas and was saying goodbye to her parents.

"We'll come visit soon, I promise," her mother was still crying.

"I love you both. I love you both so much," Anna hugged her parents tightly and kept herself from begging them to take her with.

There was no use, not any longer, in denying she was stark raving loony toons. She was hearing voices, after all. Classic crazy symptom. But worse of all she believed them when they talked. Anna kept hearing the voices of angels, and they were discussing the apocalypse. Anna tried medication, therapy, but it just kept getting worse. That was why she was in the hospital. Drastic measures for a drastic problem. Desperate for help...or maybe she was desperate to pass along the message.

"This will be your room, Anna," Nurse Jackie said, flashing Anna a wide smile. "Your first few days we ask that you stay on your floor. Once you get situated and we feel that you won't disrupt other patients you may explore a bit further."

Anna nodded quickly to show she was listening and accepted those guidelines.

"And here is the activity room," Nurse Jackie said as they continued the tour. "I don't have time to introduce you to everyone now, but you'll meet them all in time. Go ahead, have a seat and I'll come back for you in half an hour."

Anna did as she was asked without another word. She sat in a plain plastic chair and let her eyes wander over the other loony toons she would be sharing a mental hospital ward with. Her eyes fell on a young woman who was also just sitting and watching out a window.

"That's Lady," a young man said.

Anna jumped, surprised that the man had gotten so close without her noticing. She guessed the man to be in his early twenties like her. His dirty blonde hair was short and she noticed several bald and red patches where it had been torn out, most likely by himself. His eyes were small and dark, darting around wildly. His nose wiggled and he sniffed twice and then obsessively sucked on each of the knuckles on his right hand. "I'm Nick. But they call me Mouse."

Anna smiled, and the man reacted shyly and backed away a few steps and looked away. She could see his resemblance to a mouse very easily. And she'd visited enough mental health facilities to recognize his OCD. "I'm Anna," she introduced herself. "So, is there something special about Lady?"

Mouse nodded quickly, "Yeah, yeah she's crazy. Like all of us are crazy, you know. But she's a special kind of crazy."

Anna looked back at Lady, "Special kind of crazy?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Mouse said, and took a moment to suck on each of the knuckles on his right hand. "She doesn't talk, so don't bother. She's a wanted woman, dangerous, outlaw."

"She doesn't look that dangerous to me," Anna said.

"Not anymore. She was given a lobotomy, by the government. Twice, they did it twice, twice, twice," Mouse said, and took another moment to suck each of his knuckles. "They kidnapped her last week because they were afraid her mind was coming back. But it wasn't, they were just paranoid. Kidnapped by men in black, in a black car. I saw them! They kidnapped her but then brought her back, brought her back because she's a bad, bad, bad person." Mouse went as far to bite hard on each of his knuckles. His actions made Anna uncomfortable so she turned away from him and looked at Lady. When she looked away Mouse silently grew nearer to her and in her ear hissed, "She's a witch!"

Anna leaned away from Mouse. "Is that so?" She swallowed hard, feeling unsafe around Mouse.

"Yes! Evil and bad. Don't look at her! She'll give you the evil eye!" He warned.

"Mouse," Nurse Jackie used a stern voice with him.

Mouse put his head down and quickly walked away like a scolded puppy.

"Everything okay, Anna?" Nurse Jackie asked.

Anna nodded quickly, and Nurse Jackie left.

She spent her first few days just watching the other patients. Some talked a lot, others like Lady didn't talk at all. Anna became the type of patient that kept to herself. She took a chair in the corner in a window. There she sat with a large sketch pad Nurse Jackie gave her and a pencil. She drew, wrote, and when Mouse got too close to her she retreated back to her room. Once a week, sometimes twice, she met with a doctor to discuss her delusions, but otherwise she spoke with the nurses and took her meds. She didn't talk to any of the other patients about why she was there. They were all crazy as hell, throwing the added burden of the pending apocalypse on them just wasn't fair.

Anna was staring off into space while listening to the musical voices of the angels. They news they were sharing was horrifying, but the sound of their voices filled her with a warm feeling. She was no longer certain if something in her mind was translating the voices or if they were speaking English for her, or what. She just new she heard the sounds and understood exactly what it meant. They spoke of the evil running rampant outside the walls of the loony bin, and for once she was a little relieved she wasn't out there.

Anna came out of her trance and came face-to-face with a pair of pale-blue eyes. She jumped a little, shocked and startled that Lady was merely inches from her face. "Hi, Lady," Anna breathed, the first time she said anything to the woman.

Lady's eyes briefly changed. One moment they were distant and unfocused, then the next they were sharp and locked on Anna's, but the next second they were unfocused again. Anna wondered what sort of delusions Lady had that were so intense she could never come out of that trance.

"My name is Anna," Anna said, offering her hand in a handshake. She'd noticed how the nurse's were gentle and patient with Lady, and how if they weren't Lady went from passive to violent in an instant. She waited a few seconds and Lady put her hand in hers. Anna smiled a bit, "It's nice weather, don't you think? I really love the fall. All the different colors, it's so pretty outside."

Lady tilted her head slightly and slowly looked out the window. Her lips parted as her eyes saw the colorful changing leaves of the trees. She closed her eyes and her head bobbed a few times as if she may fall asleep, but then she opened her eyes and blankly stared out the window.

With a sigh Anna looked out the window with Lady. Bored and lonely Anna looked back at Lady, "Hey, would you like to hear why I'm in this place?"

Lady slowly looked back at Anna, not looking bored or interested. Anna had a feeling Lady was barely even registering the things around her. But it didn't matter, Anna was bursting at the seams with all the information she had been hearing and was dying to tell anyone. It didn't matter if it was the nurses and doctors who explained her delusions away as schizophrenia or Lady who would just stare blankly and drool.

"A few weeks ago I started hearing angels. They sent soldiers into the depths of hell to rescue one brave soul. Dean Winchester," Anna said, smiling as Lady seemed to be paying attention. Eagerly she began telling her story, sharing what the angels had been talking about. An evil demon Lilith breaking the seals that could free Lucifer. The whole time Anna talked non-stop Lady sat and watched her, and seemed to be listening.

Every day Anna took her spot in the corner, and Lady would always come over to sit by the window with her. Anna talked, either about her parents, old friends, or what the angels were talking about. Whatever came to mind. Lady stayed there, an open ear, non-judgmental, and maybe not even comprehending a single word.

Soon Lady began following Anna around. Anna didn't mind, in fact she even appreciated it. Lady had been there long enough that all the other patients gave her plenty of room. The nurses also appreciated having Anna nearby because she could always get Lady to comply. The arrangement was so perfect that Anna and Lady became roommates.

When it came down to it Anna liked having Lady there when she came out of her delusional trances. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because even though she was definitely loony toon Lady was still much worse off. Or because Lady wasn't constantly reminding her that she was schizophrenic.

**October 31, 2008**

"Lady…I hear them again," Anna said softly and in awe, already being taken over by the voices.

_A witch is planning on raising Samhain, we cannot let this seal be broken._

_ Our orders are to let Dean handle this. He says it would be helpful if he had the psychic to help him against this witch._

_ The psychic was a witch herself. I won't stand for it._

_ She was powerful enough to have a vision of Lucifer, perhaps she could provide important assistance._

_ Even if we could, our orders are not to interfere with the psychic. I'm surprised no demon has decided to finish her while she is vulnerable._

Anna let out a sigh and moved her focus away from the voices. "Witches and psychics," she said, smiling that she had Lady's full attention. Or at least what it seemed to be Lady's fully attention, she really couldn't tell. "Demons and angels. The word is coming to a swift end, Lady. Right now Dean Winchester is battling an evil witch to keep her from summoning Samhain. If that demon is summoned another seal will be broken." Anna frowned slightly, "The angels said he was asking for help of a psychic witch. I thought witches were evil, why would he want one to help him?" Anna looked out the window, her mouth in a frown as she thought about what she had heard and what she was still hearing. Though she only knew of Dean Winchester from when the angels spoke of him she had always been given the feeling he was good and important. But some angels spoke about him with distaste, actually some spoke about all humans with dislike.

Anna cracked a smile when she saw from her window a group of small children in colorful costumes running down the sidewalk. Most likely they were going to visit the nursing home that was in the next building and not the mental patients. No, no one ever came to visit the mental patients. And for good reason. They were all crazy. Although Anna wished she could have a closer look. "Halloween was always a favorite holiday of mine," she said to Lady. "Dressing up, pretending to be someone else, and candy. I love candy. I really miss candy. Oh, what I would do for a piece of chocolate." Anna let out a sad chuckle. Sugar was extremely limited to all the patients, also no coffee or soda. Nothing that could make them excitable or hyper. "How about you, Lady?" Anna asked, knowing Lady wouldn't or couldn't answer her. Lady's attention had wandered and now she was walking away to leave Anna alone.

After a few hours of Lady being missing Anna decided to look for her and easily found her in their shared room. "It's not time for lights out," Anna told her.

Lady looked up at her, then her eyes darted back and forth as if making sure they were alone, and then she pulled out a Hershey bar to show Anna.

Anna's eyes widened in surprise, "Where did you get that?" Anna also looked out in the hallway to make sure the nurses weren't making rounds before shutting the door. "Did you steal that?"

Lady did something Anna had never seen her do, she rolled her eyes as if saying it was no big deal, as if it was something she did on a daily basis. Which, for all Anna knew about Lady, was completely possible. Lady pushed the Hershey chocolate bar toward Anna.

Anna had to think for a moment. She had always been a good girl, did what she was told, never lied, never stole, an all around good Christian. The only way Lady could have gotten the candy was by taking it from a nurse or another patient, but either way it was considered contraband and not allowed.

However Anna's sweet tooth twinged and she grabbed the candy bar and tore it open. She let out a happy giggle as she put the first piece in her mouth and felt the sweet milk chocolate immediately begin to melt.

"This is heaven," Anna said, breaking off a piece and offering it to Lady. With slow movements Lady took the piece and put it in her mouth, chewing quickly. "You may not talk, Lady, but you are awesome." Anna's eyes widened when she saw the very slightest upturn of the corners of Lady's lips. Was it a smile? It vanished quicker than it had appeared, but Anna believed it had been.

**November 5, 2008**

Anna was curled up in the activity room with her sketch pad. For the longest time she had been staring out the window and hadn't even noticed the sun had set. Her meeting with the psycho-therapist hadn't gone well. She had desperately tried to explain to him that the world was coming to a swift and painful end, and he asked her about her childhood. Her mood was foul, and even Lady had kept her distance. Now it was late and she felt tired enough to go to bed.

Anna walked silently down the hall, hoping to avoid any nurses or other patients. She reached the room she shared with Lady and stopped in surprise. Mouse was in the room, and he had Lady pinned down onto the bed with his hands wrapped so tightly around her neck she couldn't make a sound.

"NO!" Anna screeched, surging forward to grab Mouse and throw him off.

Mouse stumbled backward and lost his grip on Lady. He snarled at Anna, prepared to snap her neck. Anna looked at him with wide horrified eyes, seeing through the human mask and recognizing the pure evil underneath. "De…DEMON!" She screamed in terror.

The demon possessing Mouse paused in surprise that the woman was able to see what he was. That moment was all Anna needed to strike him hard enough to send him stumbling back and out into the hallway.

Anna slammed the door shut, locking him out, and went to Lady. Outside in the hallway she heard nurses and orderly's rushing. "Lady? Are you okay?" Anna looked at the handprints around Lady's neck.

Outside in the hallway the demon possession Mouse escaped his body, leaving a very confused Mouse bleeding with a broken nose. The nurses busted into the room and immediately restrained Anna thinking she had assaulted both Mouse and Lady. Anna screamed and fought the whole time, trying to warn them that it was a demon and that it had been trying to kill Lady. That they had to protect Lady. The deranged screams of a madwoman.

The swirls of black smoke changed bodies from Mouse to Nurse Jackie. It liked to think of itself as more than just a brute capable of massive amounts of destruction and anarchy, it also liked to think of itself as a smart being of evil. It had been sent to kill the witch Lady, but Anna had caught his interest. And when he read her file, learned of her interesting delusions and how accurate they were, he became more interested. In the war against heaven it was going to be very useful to have access to angelic communication. Suddenly Anna was a much more interesting find than Lady.


	5. Wishful Thinking Part 1, Nov 2008

**November 6, 2008**

Dean groaned as he sat up in bed. He swung his legs over the edge facing away from Sam, leaned forward rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand while grabbing the bottle of scotch he hadn't finished the night before. Behind him Sam was talking quietly on his phone.

"And she is okay?" Sam waited for his response then said, "Good, good. As soon as Bobby is back I'll let him know. Thank you for calling."

Dean stowed away his bottle before Sam could spot him taking a drink. "What was that?"

There was an awkward moment where Sam internally debated on whether or not to tell Dean the truth. But with how turbulent things had been between them lately he decided to be honest. "That was a nurse at Elgin. Lady was attacked by another patient last night. No serious injuries."

Sam watched Dean carefully. Since they had kidnapped Lady over a month ago they had been unable to return to the hospital in Elgin to check on her in fear that the hospital staff would recognize them and have them arrested. Sam had expressed regret a few times that he was unable to see how she was doing and observe any possible progress. Dean, however, seemed to prefer not having to deal with it. It wasn't because he was heartless, far from it. Seeing Lady in her current state was difficult, but Dean couldn't stand it one bit. And that there was no way to cure her, that not even an angel could do it, had all but been the nails in Lady's coffin. Who she was, the real her, would never return and it was a loss that had to be grieved. And Dean never did grieve well.

Dean groaned, "Figures something had to happen while Bobby is out of the country," he uttered. With a grunt he stood up and stretched.

Sam watched Dean with a frown. "Yeah, him and Maxine both."

Dean let out a satisfied noise as his back cracked. "When are those two crazy kids coming back from the Dominican Republic anyway?" Dean asked.

"At least a few more days," Sam answered automatically. Bobby and Maxine were working together on a job that required traveling. Neither Sam nor Dean could easily get out of the country but with Dean's fear of flying it was probably for the best that they stay on American soil anyway.

"Why not call Erin? Have her take her?" Dean asked. It seemed like a good idea in his head. Erin had watched over Lady very well before.

"Erin has a life. She has school, she helps Derek with his physical therapy, she works…" Sam began.

"How do you know all that? She won't even talk to you," Dean countered, giving Sam a smartass look.

Sam shut up very quickly and fought the anger building inside him. He loved his brother, and he was so happy that Dean was alive and out of hell. But Dean sometimes had to be an asshole just for the simple joy of getting under others' skin. Sam knew it was Dean's passive-aggressive way of getting back at him for lying about Ruby and the psychic stuff, but it hurt and it pissed him off. But he knew how to quickly get Dean to lay off the subject. "Because I talk to Maxine when she calls, and she tells me," Sam confessed. "She also gives me progress reports on Lady. But you knew that, because I try to talk to you about it and you just brush it off. It's like you don't even care."

Sam knew it was a dirty thing to turn the tables on Dean, and the reaction was immediate. Dean gave him a sour look before closing himself off in the bathroom. When Dean exited the bathroom twenty minutes later their conversation was swept under the rug, left to fester until it eventually crept out again. But at least the brothers understood enough to leave it alone for the time being.

The brothers were in Concrete, Washington investigating a reportedly haunted health facility. Several women said they believed the showers were home to a spirit. As they began their investigation things weren't quite adding up to be a real spirit. They were teady to admit that they followed a bad lead and move onto the next town, but they then came across a man claiming to have been attacked by Bigfoot. Normally the brothers ignored such a thing because out of all the things they did believe in, hunted and killed, Bigfoot wasn't on the list. However they found evidence of a large-footed beast that had robbed a liquor store. Further investigation led them to a little girl who showed them her life-size talking teddy bear that was in the middle of a psychotic breakdown fueled by liquor and violent television. The little girl pointed them in the direction of a wishing well in a Chinese restaurant.

Lucky Chins was a pretty average Chinese restaurant. Bold colors, paper lanterns, happy waving cat. It also had a fountain in the middle of the restaurant, and on the bottom rested several pocketfuls of change.

Sam and Dean stood over the fountain, looking for any weird signs. However it was pretty basic. Mostly plastic except for the stainless steal pipes for the water, a chubby Buddha on top, slight algae smell.

"Think it works?" Dean asked.

"You got a better explanation for teddy back there?" Sam countered. Now that they were doing their job, being in the middle of an investigation, was easy. They worked well together, were able to ignore all other personal problems and just focus on the job. Even Dean seemed happier now that they were in full swing hunter mode. At the very least they were both very confused at the mere possibility of a real working wishing well that they couldn't spare a stray thought for their own problems.

Dean dug in his pocket and gave Sam a grin, "One way to find out."

Sam made an uncertain face, "What are you going to wish for?"

"Sh! Not supposed to tell," Dean said with a playful wink.

Dean held a quarter between his thumb and forefinger. He already knew a perfectly safe wish. It was past lunch time and his stomach was growling. Sure, they were in a restaurant, but he was really craving something other than Chinese food. He wanted a footlong sub. Italian, with salami and pepperoni, pepperjack cheese, mustard, ranch, jalapenos, and a side of horseradish.

With a casual flick of his thumb the quarter leapt from his hand and arced through the air.

The sandwich he was craving had been something Lady turned him onto. He smiled ever-so-slightly as he remembered the last time she had picked up a couple of subs from a deli in Sioux Falls for the two of them. It had been warm outside, she was in cute daisy-duke cut off shorts and a white tank top. They sat outside eating the spicy sandwiches with a few cold beers while shooting down barn swallows with a .22 rifle. He was hungry, downright starving, for all of that again.

There was a plunk as the quarter hit the water. He smiled widely at his brother and then looked around.

"Well?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head, "I don't think it works." Dean looked a bit regretful but still amused that they had humored the possibility of a wishing well. Then his stomach growled and he made a face, "Ok, time to get some grub."

"Yeah, I could eat," Sam agreed. "Let's get takeout, go back to the motel and see if we can't figure out what else could be going on."

XXXXX

Lady swayed back and forth on her feet. There was a sudden rush of blood pumping through her ears and her vision swam. For a moment she felt sick to her stomach but she ignored it as her other senses overloaded her. First thing she noticed was she was freezing, the air was icy cold and she was barely dressed. Next were the sounds, people and traffic. Then she caught a whiff of second-rate Chinese food, and then finally her vision cleared to recognized she was on a sidewalk beside some one-horse town main street.

A bag slipped out of her hand and she stumbled a few steps. She wasn't sure but it appeared to be a bag from the deli she liked to pick up food at in Sioux Falls. She took an unsteady step and accidently kicked the bag and it's contents under a parked car, and quickly decided she didn't care nearly enough about it to retrieve it. It was far more important to figure out where she was, how she got there, and what all happened before she got there because she was pretty sure she was missing some time.

Lady steadied herself as she recognized someone across the street. Sam was coming out of a door with a sign saying 'Lucky Chins.' In a low voice Lady uttered, "Son of a bitch," before boldly stepping off the curb and into the street. The only thing on her mind was grabbing handfuls of Sam's hair and dragging him down to her level so she could kick the living hell out of him, and then beating some sense back into him so she could then beat the living shit out of him, once she got to that point she wasn't sure if she'd be done but was confident she was creative enough to think of something else by that time if need be.

As Lady marched across the street a car laid on its horn. Stunned she froze in the middle of the street realizing the car was only a few feet from hitting her and was too close to be able to stop in time. Her heart jumpstarted with the fear that she was about to be crushed by an ugly mid-size tan sedan and her brain shut down. She was frozen with terror, unable to move her legs or do anything but stand there.

The world was a blur as something hard struck her. She at first thought it had been that car and that at the very least her bottom half was going to be shattered. But she felt arms wrapped around her and though she was hugged against something rather firm it was obviously a human body and not the body of a car.

"Lady?" Sam gasped. "How did you…it's okay. You are okay." Sam's voice was quick and gentle, trying to be soothing.

"Let. Me. Go," Lady snarled. She tried to dig her fingernails into his side, but she didn't seem to have any. So instead she pinched him as hard as she could and twisted.

"Ah! Ah! Ow!" Sam yelped and let her go. He took a step back and looked at her with wide eyes.

Lady was very tempted to take one step forward and then give him one hard and swift kick between his legs. However she took a moment to breathe and get her wits back after being nearly hit by the car. Her fury towards Sam was quickly being replaced by concern for herself. Things were fuzzy but she knew that things weren't all right. But mostly she was worried because her future sight was completely gone. Normally she saw a few seconds into the future, sometimes as far as a minute into the future, but right then she had nothing.

"Lady, did you say something?" Sam asked her, looking stunned.

Lady glared at him. She didn't want to talk to him, however she felt like she had just woken up from a bad blackout and had no clue where she was, while she was pretty sure he knew. She had all the time in the world to beat his ass after she got back to normal. "Sam, what's going on?" she asked him.

Sam looked like he was about to choke. "Uh…" He searched for words but they didn't find him. Fortunately for him the door behind him opened and Dean walked out with a bag of takeout.

"Sam, we're ready to…go…" Dean's eyes widened as he recognized Lady and he became speechless.

Lady's eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she saw Dean. The last time she had seen him he was a stinking corpse that they buried, but he was far from a corpse. "Dean," she uttered, and she began to smile. Overcome with emotion she surged forward with the intention of wrapping her arms around his neck and never releasing him.

However her intention vanished from her mind when her toe got caught on a crack in the sidewalk and she fell face-first on the ground. "Oof," she grunted as she landed hard and added in an, "Ow," when her chin got scraped.

"Are you okay, Lady?" Sam asked, immediately kneeling beside her and helping her up.

Lady swatted him away and stubbornly sat on the ground, glaring at him as if she was daring him to try and touch her again. "I don't need your help, dipshit!"

Sam swallowed hard and moved back a bit. His dark eyes rolled up to Dean who was doing nothing to help. Then he looked back at Lady who was slowly moving to get to her feet. He was nearby and ready in case she fell again and he said, "You seem, uh…a little unsteady."

Lady shot him a brief glare before gently rubbing her scraped chin, "Yeah, I'm a little off right now," she admitted. "Just…my vision, needs a bit to kick in or something," she uttered. Again she looked at Dean, her eyes wide. "It's really you?"

Dean briefly glanced at Sam and then back at Lady. When he had first been brought back to life he had to prove he was human to both Sam and Bobby, in fact both of them had nearly killed him before he got a chance to prove he was alive. Maybe Lady wasn't as big or as scrappy as Bobby and Sam, but she was fast and fought dirty. And she had been a babbly lunatic the past several months. He had no idea what to say or do but brace himself and tell her, "Yeah, it's me."

That was more than enough for Lady. She went toward him again, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on for dear life. "Finally. I thought I was going crazy but you are really back," she said, squeezing him tight.

"Uh…Lady…he can't breathe," Sam said in an uncomfortable tone.

Lady heard him but found it difficult to loosen her hold on Dean, but little by little he got free of her hold.

"Nice going, Dean," Sam said.

"I didn't do this," Dean countered.

"Do what?" Lady asked, and then shivered violently.

"Uh, okay let's get off the street," Sam said. "The car is this way, Lady."

Lady eagerly followed them to the Impala, ready to get out of the wind. On the short walk she nearly tripped over her own feet twice and bumped into a sign post. And getting into the backseat of the Impala she bumped her head and banged her knee.

"When did you become a klutz?" Sam asked her once they were all in the car.

Lady rubbed her sore knee and glared at him while she explained, "My future-sight isn't there. My sight is a little off. I'm used to seeing things before they happen." She slowly began to rub the bump she had given herself on her head, "I don't know what happened to me, or…" Lady stopped and froze for a brief moment before gingerly touching the light fuzz on her head. Then both of her hands went to her head and desperately felt around until she screeched, "WHERE IS MY HAIR?"

Dean and Sam both flinched at the high-pitched scream. Lady didn't hold back and didn't understand what an 'indoor voice' was. But now she was flipping out in the backseat.

"Who cut my hair! Where am I! What happened?" Lady screeched angrily.

"Will you shut up and calm down!" Dean barked.

"I will not calm the fuck down!" she screamed back.

"Lady, it's…it's a long story and we'll tell you, please…" Sam began talking in a soothing tone.

"Don't fucking talk to me like that, dipshit," Lady growled at him.

"Hey, hey, is that necessary?" Dean asked as he put the car in gear.

"Just…it's fine, Dean. Just get us to the hotel," Sam said.

Only minutes later she was led into a plain motel room. She stood in the middle of the room waiting as Sam and Dean moved to secure the windows and door. She watched Dean make sure the window was locked and grabbed the string of the blinds to close them. Before they dropped she saw out the window the sign for a Super 8 Motel along with a 'No Vacancy' sign. Suddenly all the details of the room hit her hard. The dull red wallpaper, paisley printed bedspreads.

Lady swayed on her feet as she recognized the details from her vision. The vision she had shortly before Dean was killed by the hellhound, the vision that made her believe that Dean was going to survive, and which later made her believe that she could bring him back.

Sam noticed Lady become unsteady and gently said, "Take it easy, sit down."

Lady shook her head slightly, "Now I understand everything. And why this made absolutely no sense."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, obviously confused.

"Never mind. It's just this room," Lady uttered. It was a room she had seen for months, every minute of every day for months. She had looked at it for so long that when she was finally standing inside it she hadn't considered it strange at all.

"Yeah, well, you know our style," Dean said in a sarcastic tone. He was sitting on the edge of a bed watching her closely.

"What is today's date?" Lady asked, already looking at Sam knowing what the date would be.

"November 6th," he answered.

Lady slowly exhaled and carefully stepped across the room, paying attention since she didn't have her future-sight to warn her of anything. "I have to say this is weird. I haven't been without my psychic abilities for over ten years." After a moment of thought she corrected herself, "Unless you count that time Gordon Walker tortured me."

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

Lady slowly sat into a chair and looked at him. "Cold and…confused," she muttered. She leaned back to get comfortable and went to cross her legs, and then her mouth opened in surprise. She ran a hand over her leg, "Holy shit, how did I get so hairy?"

"That'd be because you aren't allowed razors, or any sharp objects," Dean said flatly and ignored the dirty look Sam gave him. "Lady, you've been in a mental health facility for the past three months."

"Dean!" Sam snarled.

Dean glared at him, "What? Do you want to beat around the bush? Sugar coat it?"

"No, but…" Sam began to argue.

"But nothing," Dean barked. "Lady is a hunter, she doesn't need to be babied. We keep it straight and maybe she can help us out."

Lady wrapped her arms around her torso, feeling rather cold. "Why was I in a mental hospital? And what son of a bitch put me there?"

"Bobby did everything he thought he could to do help you, Lady," Dean said. "Psychics, potions, rituals, herbs. Crazy crap. But your brain was fried. Another psychic, Pamela Barnes, is pretty sure it happened during one of your visions."

"Lady, what is the last thing you remember?" Sam asked.

"This, right here," Lady said. "I was having a vision of this." She looked at Dean, "It's how I knew we could find a way to bring you back to life, because I saw you here. But…how are you back?"

Dean let out a humorless chuckle, "Not sure you'll believe me, but what the hell. An angel pulled me out of hell."

Lady arched an eyebrow and looked between Sam and Dean searching for any sign that they were screwing with her. Finding none she nodded, "Ok, an angel."

"Mmhmm. One that wears a trench coat," Dean added.

Lady frowned and rubbed her fuzzy head, "I think we are still a ways from getting me up to speed on everything."

Nearly an hour later Lady was lounging on a bed wrapped in a blanket after getting some of the important news. "So, while I've been peeing on myself in some nuthouse demons have kick started the apocalypse, angels are on earth, we elected a black president, and straight men are now wearing skinny jeans?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"And you are sure it's only been three months?" Lady asked.

"Yeah," Dean said with a nod.

"Okay, I can actually buy all of that with very little persuasion. But what I don't get is how I am here, right now, and except for being without my visions I'm pretty normal," Lady said.

"Well, that would be the job were are here on," Sam said, exchanging a brief look with Dean. "Strange things are happening and they seem to be tied into a wishing well."

"A wishing well?" Lady sounded exhausted at the mere mention of another otherworldly thing.

"Yeah, one that works," Sam said. And in a show of good faith to his brother he said, "We both have been wishing you were back to normal, and it came true. And we're happy as hell that you are back but…well we still have a job that needs to be done." Sam gave Dean a hard look and said, "Can I talk to you outside?"

Dean gladly stood up and walked out the door with Sam, leaving Lady alone in the motel by herself.

"Dean, why did you do this?" Sam hissed.

"I didn't mean to," Dean admitted. "I wasn't trying to, just a weird memory popped into my head when I was making my wish."

"Dean, this is serious and…"

"I know," Dean said quickly. "It's some major mojo going on and we need to figure it out. I say we head back down to Lucky Chin's and…"

"We? No, I will go," Sam said, already taking a few steps toward the car. "You stay here and keep an eye on your wish."

Dean uttered a curse as Sam took the car. He went back into the motel. Lady was sitting on the bed with a carton of Chinese food having trouble using chopsticks.

Dean watched for a few moments, unsure what to say or do. He had last seen Lady six months ago, it felt like over 40 years ago, and she was all but a stranger now. "Sam's going to get some work done," Dean said as conversationally as he could.

Lady looked up at him, and unable to help herself she smiled. "You look pretty good for a dead guy."

"Well, you are fairly coherent for a crazy chick," Dean replied with his own smirk.

**A/N** - _Sorry I sort of rushed finishing this chapter, I hope it doesn't show too badly, because I really wanted to do an update on my birthday (which is today, and it is shared with Jensen Ackles). I hope this is a nice lead-in for the next chapter. _


	6. Wishful Thinking Part 2, November 2008

**November 6, 2008**

Lady tipped the carton of Chinese food into her mouth in order to get the last pieces of rice. Once done she ran her tongue along her teeth, frowning at the gunky feeling. That, on top of her shaved head and hairy legs, made her want to complain to the hospital about the hygiene of their patients.

"You still hungry?" Dean asked. There were several cartons of Chinese food still on the table, neither he nor Sam had touched the food.

"No, I'm good," Lady said. "Can I use your phone? I want to check in on Bobby."

Dean was already reaching for his phone but stopped, "Yeah, uh…well you could only leave him a message. He's out of the country right now."

"Out of the country?" Lady asked in surprise.

"Dominican Republic," Dean answered. "And not in the fun vacation part. Unfortunately we can't get in contact with him until he gets back."

"You don't even know if he's okay?" Lady asked.

Dean shrugged, "I know we don't have a reason to worry unless he isn't back for another week."

Lady let out a huff of air. "Okay, guess by the time he gets back we'll be in Sioux Falls anyway." Lady stood up and brushed a few pieces of rice off of her shirt. "I should really call Maxine," she said thoughtfully.

Again Dean almost grabbed his phone, but he stopped, "Uh, yeah, about Maxine…well, Bobby needed some back-up and Maxine was the only person who could leave the country on short notice."

Lady looked at Dean with wide eyes, "Why are they working together?"

Dean shrugged, "They've been working together quite a bit trying to find ways to help you. Bobby trusts her, even thinks she's competent."

Lady looked thoughtful for a moment, then just shrugged it off. When they got back in the country then she could talk to them. What she wanted to do right then was shower, shave, and brush her teeth. She knew all of her things had been cleaned out of the Impala when she parted ways with Sam in the summer, but she helped herself to the boys' bags on the floor. Sam had a full bag of toiletries neatly packed that she took, and from Dean's bag she took a clean t-shirt.

Lady took a calming breath once she was in the bathroom alone. She leaned over the sink toward the mirror to get a closer look at herself. "Obviously they don't believe in exfoliating mental patients," she uttered bitterly as she began washing her face. With a scrutinizing eye she examined her eyebrows, they needed tweezing, her pores, if they got any bigger she could start carrying her change in them, and of course her buzz-cut. Looking at herself in the mirror she looked just like she had over ten years ago after John and Bobby had rescued her from being sacrificed. Being stripped of her hair hit her with a hard wave of nostalgia from her time trapped in the care of coven, being tortured for funsies and being prepared for a ritual. Cutting off someone's hair had symbolism behind it. Some cultures believed physical strength lied within their hair, other cultures cut hair in mourning, and of course it was always popular to cut someone's hair to punish or humiliate them.

Lady worked on overcoming the loss of her hair and what she believed to be her overall youthful good looks and general cuteness. She turned on the shower and began to undress. "God, there is more hair in my shorts than on my head," she complained as she found Sam's pack of disposable razors and shaving gel. She got in the shower and scrubbed down every part of her body clean and then began shaving. Between the soap required to get herself clean, the shave gel, and the awkward angles she was bending so she could shave she lost her footing and slipped in the shower. It happened so fast she couldn't let out a cry of surprise, and when she landed the wind was knocked out of her to keep her from crying out.

Not even two seconds later there was a sharp knocking on the door and Dean's voice calling, "Lady?"

"I'm okay!" Lady managed to squeak out.

Outside the bathroom Dean stayed close to the door while speaking on his phone. "Any chance you can hurry this up?" he asked Sam.

"Why? What is wrong?" Sam asked with concern.

Dean ran a hand through his hair trying to think of what to say. There really wasn't anything wrong, other than the fact Lady was suddenly talking again. And it was weird. In his mind he still felt like he had a huge forty year gap between the last time he had seen her, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

"Dean?" Sam said through the phone after a long silence.

"Nothing is wrong," Dean finally said. "C'mon, man, it's getting late maybe you should just come back."

"Dean, it's not even four in the afternoon," Sam countered. "Ok, I get it, it's weird for you to be with Lady. You'll just have to deal with it. Treat it like a job if you have to, just don't leave her alone. Especially while she is still tripping over her own feet."

"And falling in the shower," Dean uttered.

"What did you say?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Dean sighed.

"Okay, I'll check back in after a few hours," Sam said, and promptly hung up.

"Few hours?" Dean groaned as he closed his phone.

Fifteen minutes later when the shower shut off Lady stepped out of the bathroom wearing Dean's plain black t-shirt. "I have never felt so grimy before. And I've been rolled in some pretty dirty things," Lady said in disgust. "You'd think those people could throw in a bikini wax along with the sponge baths."

"Well, when we figure out what to tell them about you we'll mention that as well," Dean joked.

"So, when is dipshit coming back?" Lady asked.

Dean wasn't proud when his lip twitched in a smirk, he couldn't help but be pissed off at Sam himself. He fought his amusement and asked, "Think you can just bury the hatchet with him?"

Lady immediately had thoughts about burying a hatchet, or any sharp object really, in Sam's gigantic head. However she quickly squashed that. No matter what had happened between her and Sam he was still Dean's blood. Sam had dissed her, hurt her feelings and ditched her for a demon. If it had been anyone else it was very likely she would have shot him, but it was still Sam. She gave Dean the slightest smile, "Okay, you are right, I'm sorry. So when will dip...when will my best buddy Sam be back?"

The smart ass hint of a smile on Lady's lips hit Dean with a sudden wave of nostalgia so hard that he almost fell over. He had dozens of memories where she wore that smile, and if he remembered correctly it usually meant she was simply appeasing him and that in her own mind she was still queen of whatever discussion they had been having. The problem wasn't Dean's memory. He remembered Lady, how much he had loved her, some of the crazy things they had done together. And he also remembered when he died, how he had been torn up by a hellhound, how his spirit was ripped from reality and into hell, and decades of indescribable torture. Any time he started to feel human he remembered the pain, and standing there with Lady hurt like barbed wire tearing off his skin.

"What's wrong?" Lady asked, breaking Dean of his thoughts.

"Nothing," Dean said with a sigh. He said it exactly the same way for Sam and it worked.

Lady sniffed loudly, "You smell that?"

Dean immediately inhaled through his nose, trying to detect the smell of gas or poisonous fumes. They led a dangerous life and constantly something wanted them dead, it paid to be attuned to dangerous stuff like that. "I don't smell anything," he said after a few whiffs. After Lady's shower all he could smell was soap.

"Smells like bullshit," Lady said lightly. She gave Dean a slight smile, to show she was teasing him. Bickering back and forth had been the foundation of their relationship. Mostly they were light and fun, quick to start and ending with laughter or a roll of the eyes. But Dean didn't smile or roll his eyes. He looked at her seriously, and she wondered if she didn't also see anger in his eyes but if she did it didn't seem to be directed at her. If she had known her light tease would cause that reaction she wouldn't have done it, and she longed for her psychic abilities to return. "Sorry," she said seriously. "I'll behave, promise. I mean, c'mon, I'm here. It's me." Lady put on a flashy smile as she saw Dean start to lighten up. "We should be partying. C'mon, I bet you never thought you'd get to talk to little 'ol me again. Maybe I was still breathing in that hospital, but I was no better than dead, was I? I bet you all gave up on me."

Dean looked at her with a hard gaze that she hadn't expected and he said, "Hope and faith have never been my strong suits. But we didn't give up on you. I sure as hell didn't."

Lady swallowed hard as she met his serious gaze, and she could appreciate how difficult it was for Dean to admit something like that.

"You weren't dead to me," Dean continued. "I was always keeping an ear to the ground for something, anything. All of us were." Dean swallowed the thick feeling in the back of his throat, "This is not what I expected, believe me. But, it's really good to have you back."

Lady fought back the stinging behind her eyes and wanted to slap herself for feeling emotional. "You too, Dean," she said.

Dean was prepared when Lady pulled him close, and this time he returned her tight embrace.

Lady and Dean sat on the bed, the spread of Chinese food between them. Lady ate with a plastic spork while Dean worked with chopsticks. He told her what had been happening so far in the war against the apocalypse, how they seemed to be losing. The seals Lilith was breaking, and how she had awoken spirits to attack hunters, and that the angel Castiel had filled Dean in on what ailed Lady and how she couldn't be helped. And then he told her about the crazy trip into the past where he discovered his mother had been a hunter, and had made a deal with the yellow-eye demon Azazel in order to save his father.

"The family on my mother's side, they all hunted. They passed it down from generation to generation," Dean said and poked at his sweet and sour chicken.

"Did John know?" Lady asked.

"From what I could figure out he didn't know back then. But, uh, I think he figured it out later on," Dean muttered. "When I was there I got a chance to spend some time with her…"

Lady smiled sadly as Dean took a moment to fondly remember his mother. "What was she like?"

Dean almost beamed, "She was incredible. So beautiful, and smart." Dean lost his smile and looked a bit regretful. "She wanted out of the life, she didn't want to be a hunter. She didn't want her sons to be hunters. But what she did started all of this in motion. Ten years later, after Sam was born, Azazel came back and killed her. All so he could turn Sam into one of his psychic kids by…" Dean paused and bit his tongue, suddenly aware of how much he was giving away. He didn't want everyone knowing what afflicted Sam, they'd kill him. But he knew Lady, and trusted her. "Azazel gave those kids demon blood."

Lady's eyes widened, "They got their powers from demon blood? Does…that's crazy, I've never heard of something like that. Though in theory if…"

Lady began a rant, mostly talking to herself as she spoke ideas and theories about demonology, witchcraft, paganism, and anything else that popped into her head. With her ADD her thoughts shifted before one thought process could finish. For a moment Dean was confused, but quickly it lifted his spirits and assured him that it really was Lady sitting beside him.

"Hey, that's enough," he said, fighting back a chuckle.

Lady frowned and chewed her lip for a moment, obviously still thinking but keeping it to herself.

"Lady," Dean said her name to get her attention. Her pale-blue eyes met his instantly. "You remember that silver charm bracelet my Dad gave you?"

"Oh…well, yeah, I do," Lady said. "I, uh…sort of buried it with you."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I know. I found it, I still have it. Um…I'm not sure where my Dad got it because I don't remember seeing it as a kid. Maybe it was just a replica he found or picked up somewhere, I don't think he could have kept it all those years and kept it a secret. But my mom had one just like it." Dean searched her face, and satisfied she was truly surprised continued. "It's in the car. A little dirty but…uh, it's yours. And…"

"Dean, John would not have given me anything of your mother's," Lady said. "Maybe John didn't hate me, but he didn't particularly like me. And he barely trusted me."

Dean shrugged, "I don't know, he's not around to ask. Just thought you might like to know that."

"Dean, how sure are you that this Castiel didn't just…well, mind-fuck you into believing you had a guest spot on 'That 70's Show'?" Lady asked as gently as she could. Whenever Dean's parents were a topic she knew to tiptoe. Dean was defensive and protective of his family. "I mean, your memories mixing with what he wants you to see or believe."

Dean's shoulders slumped a bit, "Yeah, I've wondered if that isn't what happened myself. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. But when I confronted Sam about the demon blood he admitted it was true. He had known for over a year, just never told me. That whole year he couldn't use his psychic crap, but after I died he started again."

Lady nodded solemnly, she had caught Sam herself before her debilitating vision. "Have you had any luck in getting him to quit using those abilities?"

Dean shook his head and shrugged, "For a while he did. Or I think he did, at least. But last week I caught him." Dean set aside his food, a sign that his appetite was gone. "We came across a couple of witches who resurrected Samhain, and doing so they broke one of the seals. Samhain is a demon, and Sam used his psychic powers to send it back to hell when we failed to stop the witches."

Lady frowned at the information. The name sounded familiar immediately, and Lady had heard of Samhain and his association with Halloween. She knew a hell of a lot about witchcraft and pagans, and wasn't half bad at demons. But she had a hard time pinpointing where she had heard of Samhain. But she didn't dwell on the thought.

Lady carefully set aside a carton of Chinese food and scooted across the bed toward Dean and leaned into him. "I'm sorry," was all she could say. She hadn't been enough to keep Sam from falling back on Ruby for help. "You asked me to watch out for him but…"

"It isn't your fault," Dean said quickly. "Sam is the one who chose it."

Lady looked away. Sam had made the choice but she couldn't help but feel inadequate. She loved Sam, he was her friend and like a brother to her. But she hadn't been enough.

Without warning Dean had her face in his hand and forced her to look back at him. "This is on Sam, not you," he said forcefully.

Lady looked into his lively green eyes, and quickly felt overwhelming elation. It hit her once again that Dean was back, she was done waiting. The next thing she knew she had crashed her face against his in a violent attempt to get a kiss.

"Oh, ow," Lady put her fingertips to her lips, and then laughing.

"Ow," Dean agreed. "Were you trying to kiss me or knock me out?"

"I was aiming for a kiss," Lady admitted. Even though that had been her worst attempt at a kiss in her entire life she couldn't help but smile, and it was all she could do to keep from bursting out in giggles. Here she was, six months after Dean had died sharing Chinese food and wearing one of his t-shirts, it was a bit ridiculous in her mind.

Dean licked his lips and was grateful he didn't taste blood. He looked into Lady's devilish blue eyes and was once again hit with nostalgia, and this time he acted on it. With a hand on the side of her face he held her still while he moved closer to her.

Lady didn't want a repeat of her most recent failure. Her impatience and eagerness coupled with her lack of psychic visions had turned her into a complete klutz. She stayed still and waited until she had Dean's mouth on hers. With her eyes closed she kept moving to Dean, the only thing in her mind was how happy she was that he was back.

Little by little the kiss picked up steam. To Dean it had been over forty years since he had been able to really enjoy any physical action. The whole day to him had felt like a strange dream, like it couldn't be real. After all the last time he had a wish that involved Lady it had all ended up being a Djinn induced acid trip. But he quickly reminded himself that there was nothing like that here, just a working wishing well which had to be ten times better, and decided to put his hands on Lady's bare legs to take the kiss up another notch. He had expected unnaturally silky smooth skin that only a woman could have, but instead the skin felt thick and almost leathery.

Dean had to pull back, and Lady did the same while moving back to give them more distance. Knowing why he had stopped she explained, "I got some pretty serious burns not long after you died. Some places on my legs and arms have patches that got it worse than others. Good thing is hair doesn't grow in those spots, but…yeah my skin feels like sandpaper."

Dean already knew the story, a ritual on the blue moon that had backfired and nearly killed both Lady and Sam. But Lady was a rather proficient witch, she had stopped it. He reached to her and firmly grabbed her leg and playfully tugged her back to him. "It's fine, it's hot," he smirked. She gave him a brief roll of the eyes so say she knew he was just appeasing her, but she couldn't completely fight off her own smile. More seriously he asked, "Do they hurt?"

Lady shook her head, "No, not any more. My hands sort of feel like they have arthritis, though."

Dean grabbed her hands and noticed a few of her fingers were crooked. Bad breaks that hadn't healed straight and swollen knuckles. "You take up boxing?"

"Yeah, yeah I did. I started out in the lightweight but moved up to the demon class pretty quick," she joked but her voice didn't sound amused.

"Yeah, that demon class always needs new people," Dean muttered. The lengths that Sam and Lady had gone to in an attempt to raise him from hell had nearly killed them, left Lady scarred and broken, and had Sam teaming up with a demon and using demonic psychic powers.

Lady misunderstood the look on Dean's face and recoiled slightly. "Yeah, I get it, I'm ugly as hell."

Dean looked at her with surprise. He had seen how ugly hell was, she came no where close. "You kidding? You are like Demi Moore from GI Jane, hot as hell."

"You are just sucking up. But go on," Lady smiled slightly.

"It would take more than a few new scars and a short hair cut to make you ugly," Dean said seriously. "Besides, you want to see messed up scars, check this out." Lady watched as Dean rolled up his right sleeve. Her mouth opened in shock at the bright red burn in the shape of a handprint. Before she could ask Dean told her in an amusing tone, "That's where the angel touched me." More seriously he said, "Hurt a bit the first day or so, but it is fine now."

"That is really messed up," Lady finally agreed.

"It is. But, on the upside, it's like all my other scars got erased," Dean added.

Lady's hand touched his arm where there used to be a scar from a bullet wound, one she had accidentally caused. "You know this means I have to shoot you again, right?"

Dean burst out in laughter, and Lady quickly joined him. Lady happily pushed Dean back onto the pillows, holding her laughter enough to tell him, "I missed you so much."

Their noses almost touching and her weight on top of him caused another flash of nostalgia to run through Dean's mind. Comfortably he put his hands on her thighs, ignoring the healed burned patches. "I missed you, too," he admitted. He couldn't tell her, or anyone, what happened to him during hell. But he knew he had thought of her while he was there. He thought about her until it hurt to remember, and even then when he felt like he was losing himself he forced himself to think about her and Sam and all the things that had made him human. And that pain was only rivaled by the pain he received when he was resurrected and saw he couldn't have her anymore.

Lady couldn't help but keep opening her eyes as she kissed Dean, just reaffirming it was him. As if the unique feel of his mouth wasn't enough. And more than once she caught him doing the same to her, and it made her giggle. Dean even joined in with a chuckle. Between the occasional bout of happy laughter, sighs of breath, and soft sounds of kissing neither of them heard the door open. And it wasn't until Sam let out a, "Oh…c'mon!" that they realized their time alone was finished.

Lady and Dean separated and looked at Sam with contempt. "You couldn't knock?" Dean asked.

"I really didn't think that three hours was enough time for you to move in on a recent mental patient," Sam said.

"Then you really don't know him. Or the mental patient. I thought you had learned by now that we're just horny animals," Lady said conversationally.

"Sorry," Sam said stiffly. "Uh, Dean, can I talk to you outside?"

Dean stood up and adjusted his jeans uncomfortably before following Sam outside. The moment the door was closed Lady promptly hopped off the bed, stumbled several times until her foot came untangled with a sheet, fell back on the bed, then more cautiously got off the bed and crept toward the door so she could hear.

Sam and Dean were only a few steps from the door and she could hear fairly clearly. "What'd you find out?" Dean asked.

"Ghost at the gym was a teenage who wished to become invisible."

"Nice," Dean chuckled.

"Dean," Sam said in a patronizing tone.

"Whatever, Sam. Have you figured out what made the wishing well work or not?"

"Yes and no," Sam said. "I emptied the fountain, there is one antique coin that I can't get out of there. I made a rubbing of it, what do you think?"

Lady frowned at the silence and wished she could see. A few moments later Dean said, "Nah, I don't recognize it. That's something I'd show to Bobby."

"I know, but he's a bit out of our reach," Sam said.

"But we do have someone who spent years absorbing info from Bobby right behind that door," Dean said.

Panicked that somehow Dean knew she was eavesdropping she jumped back from the door, fell on her rear, then scrambled to her feet only to fall onto the bed. She managed to be sitting in a fairly normal manner when the door opened. Unsure if she had been caught or not she smiled sweetly at the brothers when they came back in. Dean gave Sam a dirty look before taking a piece of paper from his hand and offering it to Lady. "This might have something to do with the case in town, you make anything out of it?"

On the paper was a pencil rubbing of a circular disc, a coin. She could see the engravings on the coin. "Pretty sure the wording is Babylon, but I don't know what it says."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I can find the translation online but it will take me a while," Sam said, appearing relieved that his search had been narrowed. He grabbed his computer, eager to discover the secrets of the coin.

Dean watched Sam settle in on the other bed with the laptop and appeared slightly annoyed, but he didn't let it get him down. He grabbed Lady's wrist, "Come on."

"Where are you guys going?" Sam asked immediately.

"Out," Dean said shortly before escorting Lady out and shutting the door.

**A/N** - _I am very sorry for the long delay, over 2 months. I have a few reasons/excuses that really aren't important. Just know I'm sorry, normally I give a warning if I know it'll take me so long to update. However because of the long wait I have the next 2 chapters ready, and am halfway done with the one after them. I feel like I got over a hump in the story, and I'm eagerly writing again. Thank you for being patient, and I promise to have a new update next week._


	7. Wishful Thinking Part 3, November 2008

**November 6, 2008**

Lady appreciated that she didn't have to hang out in the motel with Sam. Whether or not that had been the motivation for Dean to escape with her in the Impala she didn't know. As he drove he had a slight smile on his face.

Lady was impatient by nature and after only a few minutes had to ask, "Where we going?"

"There is a ShopKo in town, you can get some clothes and whatever you need," Dean answered, smiling as if he thought that he was doing something as kind and selfless as giving away a kidney.

"I'm not shopping at ShopKo," Lady said flatly.

Dean lost his smile, "How long do you think my t-shirt is going to last you? Not exactly the warmest time of the year to be running around in shorts with your ass hanging out, Lady."

She hated he was right but couldn't help but complain, "Can't we go to a mall?"

Dean rolled his eyes. There was no mall in town. They were lucky there was even a department store. "Not here. Hey, just get what you need to last until we reach Bobby's. I bet you'll be thrilled that he didn't throw your stuff away. Sentimental old bastard kept your room exactly how you left it."

Hearing that did make Lady happy enough that she let out a short laugh. But it quickly made her wonder and worry about Bobby all over again. She couldn't wait to see him. Bobby had always taken care of her without trying to smother her. He was the most consistent thing she'd ever had in her life, and it was easy to say he was like a father figure to her just as he was to Sam and Dean. But what it came down to he was her best friend. He had never let her down, and on more than one occasion gave her the kick in the ass she needed.

They reached the department store and Lady carefully walked barefoot across the parking lot with Dean. "First stop, some shoes," Dean said.

"I'm not buying shoes here!" Lady hissed in a high whiney voice.

"Suck it up, Lady," Dean snapped right back, giving her a firm gaze to silently tell her to use her indoor voice, which she didn't really have. There weren't many people in the story but already they were staring. Lady stood out in a way she couldn't hide. Her buzzed hair, no shoes, and wearing a t-shirt that went down to her mid-thigh. Not to mention the odd patches of red on her legs and the criss-cross scars on her forearms. She looked messed up.

"People are staring at me," Lady said in a subdued tone.

"Yeah, well it doesn't look like you are wearing any shorts," Dean said, putting a hand on her back and leading her toward the clothing section.

"I'm not," Lady admitted.

"What? Why didn't you put your shorts back on?" Dean asked.

"Well it isn't like I knew we were going anywhere," Lady said lightly.

Dean's hand casually went down to her waist and sure enough he felt nothing underneath. Lady turned her head slightly to look at and give him a devilish grin, and he had to pull her to a stop to keep her from walking into a display of deodorant. Once the collision was averted he returned her naughty smile.

Lady reached the clothing section and looked at the selection with distaste. "This…no, no I'm sorry I can't wear any of this. I've spent years mastering my style and I can't be caught dead in any of this."

"I've seen you wear worse things than this stuff," Dean said. "Jeans, t-shirts. No problem."

Lady narrowed her eyes on him, "You are completely blind to fashion. There is a phenomenal distance between designer jeans, and what ever it is you are holding."

Lady watched as Dean gave her his best charming smile, and had he asked her to she would have worn a potato sack right then. Normally she had more self restraint, however she had spent months missing that handsome face. The corners of his eyes crinkled and his eyes told her he knew he had won the brewing argument before it had really started. "Just until we get back to South Dakota," he said, offering her a pair of jeans.

"Fine," Lady said, trying to continue being difficult to keep up appearances. Though it was hard to fight the continual glee she had that everything was back to how it should be. Other than missing her psychic abilities she was too happy to put up a fight in the name of fashion.

She could tell that Dean was happy as well. The main sign that he was happy was he was actually shopping with her. But he also didn't give her his annoyed eye roll or even mention once how unnecessary her make-up was, though he did laugh when she briefly looked at shampoo before remembering she was bald. And once she was done he didn't complain about the cost.

After shopping Lady enjoyed a comfortable drive sitting beside Dean with his arm around her shoulders. Dressed in her new ShopKo jeans and wearing a pair of flip flops. After a half hour drive Dean found a dark and secluded spot to park. The sky was cloudy and only a shapeless glow of the moon above clouds could be seen.

Wordlessly Lady let herself be taken into a longing kiss and eagerly returned it. Unable to help herself she began giggling.

Without even knowing why Dean joined her laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked, leaning back slightly to look at her face. The electronics of the dashboard were their only light and it was a beautiful blue glow against her face.

Lady ran her hand over his arm, "I don't think I've ever made it with a guy that was prettier than me before." Lady laughed once again. His nearly flawless skin was attractive and appealing, but she had never been bothered by Dean's interesting scars either. "You are so pretty now if I put you in a wig and a dress I could call you Barbie and sell you on a street corner. We go to the right neighborhood in Vegas and we don't even need the wig or dress, pretty boy."

"Shut up," Dean said in a low and amused growl.

Lady turned on her deep southern accent, "Put that purty mouth to work, boy."

Dean shook with silent laughter as he did just that. Lady exhaled softly as his mouth moved over hers and down her jaw to her neck. She felt a tremor of excitement as he gave her a gentle nibble and suck above her collarbone. She took a moment to be annoyed at the fact he had waited until after she put pants on, but didn't care. Her fingertips moved through his hair, silently urging him on. Lady bit on her lip as he moved to the other side of her neck, and she had a moment to appreciate the new level of excitement that not having her psychic abilities gave her. Not knowing exactly what would happen next, being unprepared, was different and new.

Eager and unable to take much more of his gentle teasing Lady shifted so she could move into Dean's lap. Dean leaned back and moved his hands to accompany her. Lady went to put her leg over his. In her mind the movement was supposed to be graceful and sexy. However her flip flop caught the shift lever, she fumbled to save the moment while Dean was trying to keep her from breaking his car. In the brief scuffle Lady's balance failed and when her foot became free she went crashing into Dean's lap, her knee hitting him in the groin.

Dean's breath exploded out of him in a rush from the sudden intense pain. Lady let out a short high pitched yelp the moment she realized what she had done. She let herself be removed from Dean's lap and pushed into the passenger side, and sat horrified at her clumsiness as Dean uttered a string of curses as he stepped out of the car and slammed the door.

Cautiously she rolled down her window. "Babe, I am so sorry."

"I know," Dean said in a pained voice. After several moments he got back into the car and shifted into drive.

"It was an accident," Lady said after a few minutes of driving.

"I know," Dean said tensely. "It's fine. I'm fine."

Lady folded her arms across her chest and looked straight ahead, her mind trying to figure out how she could get her psychic abilities back before she accidentally killed her newly resurrected boyfriend.

XXXXX

After Dean and Lady had left the motel room Sam started working. First he cleaned up the room. In the bathroom Lady had left his things just spread out. Every last one of his razors was in the garbage, along with his shaving gel. He saw his toothbrush had somehow fallen into the toilet and he quickly decided he wasn't even going to mention it to Lady. From his previous experience she couldn't hold a grudge indefinitely, her friend Maxine had shot at her and had eventually earned forgiveness after all, not to mention how many times Dean had pissed her off and she still loved him. Sam knew she had every right to be mad at him. He was still mad at himself for what had happened. If he hadn't been stubborn, if he had been half an hour faster, then maybe she wouldn't have been lost in her own head for so long. He had managed the guilt he felt, and now that Lady was back he was eager to smooth things over with her.

Sam finished tidying up the motel room before sitting down with his laptop. He began the tedious task of searching for information. He had done this, or some version of this, so many times he had lost count. He took on the challenge with confidence that he'd find out the secrets of the coin, but he was realistic that it would take a while for him to find it. Just when he stumbled upon a promising website his phone rang. He recognized who it was and suspiciously looked at the door, expecting Dean to arrive and catch him. He jumped off the bed to make sure the Impala wasn't back before answering the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Sam?" Ruby's voice answered him. "Is it safe to talk?"

"Yeah, they are out right now," Sam said in a low voice, still worried he might be caught talking to the demon.

"They?" Ruby questioned.

Sam was surprised at himself at how easy it had been to welcome Lady back into their lives. With a short laugh he decided to share the good news, "Lady is here. She's back."

"She is?" Ruby said in surprise. "The real Lady? You are sure it's not her possessed by a demon or something?"

Ruby's voice was laced with real worry. Sam looked at the devil's trap drawn on the ceiling which Lady had passed through without a problem. And then she had devoured a few cartons of salty Chinese food. "She's fine," Sam said.

"You have to be more careful. She could be anyone, _anything_! She could have one of Lilith's lackeys in her right now, just waiting to kill you with your guard down. Or Dean. Where are they?" Ruby snarled at him.

"I don't know," Sam said stiffly. "She walked through a devil's trap, she's no demon."

Ruby huffed a breath of air into the phone, "What did you do, Sam? How did you finally put the broken egg that was her brain back together?"

Sam tiredly rubbed his eyes, "I didn't. I'm still trying to figure it out, I'll fill you in later."

"Fine, whatever. I was just calling to see how hard Dean was riding your ass, but looks like you cut a break seeing as he'll be riding Lady instead."

"Yeah, for a while at least," Sam said with a sigh.

"Maybe we can meet up?" Ruby asked in a cautious way.

Sam was already shaking his head, "Not a good idea."

Before he could continue to give her any reasons why Ruby said, "That's fine. I have things to check in on anyway. Good luck."

Sam went back to his laptop and continued looking. And after just a few more minutes he found a picture of the same coin he had seen in the wishing well. He discovered it depicted Tiamat, the Babylonian dragon deity of primordial chaos. Sam anxiously ran a hand over his hair as he read on, hearing tales of how wishes turned bad to the point entire towns off the map. He began calling Dean, and increasingly became more concerned when his brother didn't answer. It wasn't until after midnight that he heard the Impala pull up to the motel and he saw both Dean and Lady through the window that he relaxed.

Sam was standing when they entered. "Hey," he said, his eyes looking over his brother and Lady. "You guys okay?"

Dean was walking stiffly, "We're fine."

"I accidentally crushed his balls," Lady admitted, hanging her head guilty.

"I'm fine," Dean gruffed, and then he uncomfortably sat on the edge of his bed.

"At least she didn't shoot you," Sam said helpfully.

Dean gave him a tired glare, and then took his pistol from his waistband. He made a show of unloading the bullets from his gun.

"There is a reason Lady is so clumsy," Sam said.

"Yeah, because I don't have my visions," Lady answered.

"Sure," Sam agreed. "But also because that wishing well is more of a curse than a blessing. The coin depicts Tiamat. He's the Babylonian deity that specializes in chaos. Legend goes that the coin activates the wishing well, and starts granting people's wishes. However the wishes start turning bad. So bad some places have been completely wiped from existence. For example, the manic-depressive living Teddy Bear, and a clumsy psychic without her psychic abilities."

Lady leaned against the wall, "I get it. The wishes begin to escalate in a downward spiral. Probably eventually killing the person. Classic 'be careful what you wish for' crap. In the beginning people are happy, then word gets around, more and more people start feeding into its power bank. I bet the last time this coin was used the fastest way to communicate was still horseback. Imagine how big this can get once someone posts it to the internet."

"Fortunately there is a way to fix it all. Legend says the person who put that coin and cast the first wish is the only one who can pull the coin out, shutting off the well," Sam said.

"Sounds good. How do we find the first wisher?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged, not sure yet himself.

Lady listened quietly as Sam and Dean tossed back and forth a few suggestions. While they decided whose job it was to search newspapers over interviewing people she thought about the magic that would have been used to create the coin. Even without her psychic abilities Lady's mind was sharp and busy. Maybe she couldn't pin down exactly how to make a coin like it, but she had understanding of how it could work.

"Guys, pulling that coin out isn't going to just shut off the well," Lady interjected herself. Her eyes locked onto Sam's. His eyes were large and brown and sad, and she knew he already was aware of what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"If we can remove the coin it will undo all the magic," Lady answered. "All the wishes get taken back. Teddy Bear goes back to being a boring toy, invisible pervert goes back to being just a pervert, and then we got me." Lady looked away, shaking her head as she began to get pissed off at the situation. "Damn Babylonians," she uttered.

"We don't know," Sam said. "Maybe…maybe this is just what you needed? You got a jolt, enough to become aware again. Maybe you won't go back to how you were."

"Or maybe I do," Lady said evenly. She let out a huff of breath and worked on calming herself. Getting worked up wouldn't do anything. What she could do was help the brothers to the best of her abilities in shutting down the wishing well for good.

"Great," Dean uttered, and he stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Lady and Sam both asked at the same time.

"Just outside," he snapped back at them, and exited the motel and slammed the door.

Lady and Sam looked at each other. As angry as she was with Sam she was trying to overcome that for Dean, he was worth finding a way to overcome a grudge. Sam, obviously trying to do what he can to mend things, said to her, "Lady, we have to find a way to keep you…if you go back to how you were I don't know if Dean can handle it. I haven't seen him this happy since he got out of hell. He keeps saying he doesn't remember what happened there but…I've been really worried about him. Since you've been back I haven't seen him hit the bottle."

Lady thought about a few times she had noticed Dean's eyes grow distant and wondered what he had been thinking of. He had casually said he had no memories of hell, only of the hellhound that killed him. She hadn't really believed him, but it wasn't something she'd ask anyone about. "So what if he remembers?"

Sam looked surprised, "He needs help, Lady. You haven't been around, you don't know what he's like most of the time. Depressed and drinking, all the time." Lady took a few moments to think about it. That would be a shitty way to go through life. Sam recognized she was starting to see his side. "Dean might open up to you. He's so happy to have you back I think he might do anything."

"I'll talk with him," Lady offered after several moments of silence.

Sam smiled gratefully at her. Not just because she was willing to help with Dean, but because it felt like they were friends again. "Thank you. It means a lot. And it means a lot to me just having you here. It's nice to have the family back together."

Lady's eyes immediately went hard. "I'll do this for Dean, that is if he even needs it. As for me and you, we are not family."

Sam swallowed hard and looked at her sadly. He had mistakenly told her the same thing and had remembered regretting it. However he could see on her face she didn't regret it. If anything she enjoyed being able to say it back to him. "Lady, I'm more sorry than you can believe."

"I know. I just don't care," Lady said. "I'm sure you'll keep apologizing, sucking up and kissing ass. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get so sick of hearing it that I accept it. But until then, know this, the only reason we are in the same room together is because there are no other vacancies in this motel. But that doesn't mean I won't turn on the charm when Dean gets back to convince him to kick you out anyway. We used to be friends, Sam. And you might think you know how much of a vicious bitch I can be, but you are about to find out that all this time I've actually been holding back."

Sam looked back at her, surprised at her eerily calm hostility. He wasn't sure what she thought she'd do to him, but there were numerous ways she could make his life unpleasant. "Fine, I deserve it for how I treated you."

Lady hated how self-sacrificing Sam could be at times. In fact it sort of made her want to bash him over the head more. Damn right he deserved it. She just wasn't sure what she'd do to him yet, and damn it if he kept looking so pathetic she may not have the heart to do anything at all.

Dean returned soon enough and made it obvious his elated mood from earlier was a distant memory now. Sam gathered his stuff and excused himself to sleep in the car. And Lady carefully got into the bed and made it bounce until Dean looked at her.

"From the sound of it I was making my way back sooner or later," Lady said gently. "This wish, how I am now, it's not right. I don't feel completely right, and it isn't just being without my visions." With a sigh she let herself fall over onto the pillows. "I'll try to figure something out. While you two work this case I'll work on me. I got myself into it, I should be able to figure out how to get out, right?"

Dean let her pull him down onto the pillows next to her. "I'm not letting you get taken away from me again," he said, and it sounded like more of a threat than a promise. "I just can't keep taking hits like this."

Lady fell into silence, thinking about ways she could stay like she was. She crossed her arms over her chest while staring up at the ceiling with a frown. But before she made anything resembling progress she fell into an exhausted sleep from a long and exciting day.

**November 7, 2008**

The next thing Lady recalled it was morning. There was the chirping of birds, the few that had not yet migrated or perhaps were going to tough it out through the quickly approaching winter. The sun was up, but was muted behind the cheap motel curtains. Slowly she began to stretch, but stopped when she saw Dean asleep just a few inches from her. A grin spread across her face. She remembered they weren't completely out of the woods, but at the same time she had to appreciate that they were together again. She admired the length of his body, still in jeans and a flannel shirt, but long and well built. She noticed his eyes moving under his eyelids while he slept and that he didn't seem relaxed and at rest like he should be. "What's going on in your head, Dean?" she uttered in curiosity as she began to wonder just how she should wake him up.

_Dean was sitting on the hood of the Impala, one of his feet resting on a cooler full of ice and beer. There were crickets chirping, the stars were out, he was surrounded by lush green trees and bushes with full ripe berries. He had been camping. He couldn't remember if he just felt like enjoying a peaceful night outside or if he just didn't have the cash for a motel. Then out of no where Lady appeared, giving him a nudge and a smile. He knew, just felt it deep down, that if he could be with her, that everything would be okay. He took her in his arms and laid her down on the soft blanket of grass. He felt the swelling happiness as they kissed and their hands battled for dominance as they undressed._

_ But like so many other times when he began to remember good things like this, something that made him happy or feel human, it began to hurt. Like a deep aching pain right in the heart of his chest. It was nearly unbearable, it made him want to scream and cry out, but he couldn't. He could only choke it down and let the pain fuel him so he could continue what he had to do to save himself._

_ Instead of making love to Lady under a beautiful starry sky he was now back in hell. Lady was stripped naked and chained down. Chunks of meat from the other souls he had tortured were hanging around him like trophies, and there was an empty hook so he could take something from Lady. Horrified he watched himself lightly touch a tray of instruments and tools until he found a wicked looking thing that was twisted and serrated. Lady screamed and begged, but he no longer had control. He wanted to save her but instead was about to watch as she was tortured._ _He struggled, fighting with all he had to be free so he could stop it._

Lady jumped as Dean violently woke himself up. She stared at him with wide surprised eyes. For a moment he met her eyes, but then avoided them. In a soft voice she asked, "You okay, babe?"

"Yeah, fine. It was nothing," he muttered, getting out of bed and going to the bathroom.

Lady sat cross-legged on the bed and waited several minutes. When he came out of the bathroom she watched him silently. After he had washed his mouth out with whiskey and gave himself a new layer of deodorant he asked, "You hungry?"

"Not really," she answered.

"I'll go pick something up," he said as if he hadn't heard her.

Lady hated to admit that Sam was right, there was something seriously wrong with Dean. And she was willing to accept that his theory of Dean having memories of hell was correct as well. But seeing the dark side of Dean she understood Sam's concerns, and could even appreciate that Sam wanted to help Dean. And was ready to put forward her own effort.

"You don't have to tell me everything, but is it really necessary to lie?" Lady said a bit more harshly than necessary. She immediately saw the signs in Dean that told her he was about to get defensive. She took a brief moment to be impressed by her own skills without the aid of her psychic visions before she continued. "I don't blame you for not wanting to talk about it, but at least man up and say what's wrong."

Lady looked at Dean hopefully. He wasn't a sissy, he didn't require sugar-coating, in fact being a little rude and mean was often the only way to get things done. Perhaps that was why Sam had difficulties getting through to Dean. Sam, while also not a sissy, was more sensitive. He had a soft way of handling people, delicate and caring. Lady lacked that same feminine touch, plus she didn't have the patience.

"Nothing is wrong," Dean said, grabbing his leather jacket.

"Stop being a pussy," Lady said, carefully moving off the bed to stand up with plans to block his exit. "I'm not asking you to cry on my shoulder and have a long heart-to-heart. I just want you to stop being a jackass and…say something, at least."

"Alright, I'm a little stressed," Dean said angrily. "I'm in the middle of a case and my girlfriend just magics up here from the nut house, suddenly okay again. And I just found out that when I finish this case, she's going right back to the loony bin. And instead of figuring out a way to stop that, she's bitching to me about I don't know!"

Lady actually appreciated the outburst from him, it meant she was getting through. "I know that isn't what is up."

"No, Lady, you know jack shit," he said flatly. He put his hands on her shoulders and forcefully moved her from the door, then left. She flinched as he slammed the door shut.

A few moments later Sam came into the motel room, looking rather disheveled from his night in the car. "Dean just walked off. What happened?"

"I decided to take your advice and I talked to him," Lady snapped at him, happy she had someone there to yell at. But she didn't have the motivation to really yell at Sam, it was her fault Dean stormed off. Dean was pissed for several reasons and she had picked a poor time to try and talk to him, but she couldn't help it. She didn't like seeing him miserable. But now she was miserable and wishing terribly that she had her psychic abilities again to help speak to him.

And then she realized something very obvious. She _could_ wish for those abilities again.

"It's okay, he'll come back after he cools off," Sam said. "I'm going to take a shower before he gets back, did you need to use the bathroom first?"

"Uh, no, no I'm good," Lady said. She didn't move until he was in the bathroom and she heard the shower start. Once it did she surged into action, getting her shoes on and getting dressed, and then escaping from the motel room into the cool morning.

Lady couldn't remember the address of the restaurant, however it was a small town so her best guess of Main Street was correct and she quickly found Lucky Chin's. Eagerly she stepped off the curb to cross the street, but jumped back when a car honked and nearly hit her. Her heart jumped up into her throat, and as she tried to swallow it back down she looked both ways and this time crossed the street without nearly being road kill.

She went around back and broke in through the kitchen. She found the fountain, empty except for the one coin magically stuck to the bottom. "Alright, Tiamet, time to help a girl out," she said, looking around the fountain for a way to fill it with water.

**A/N** - _Happy early mother's day to those who apply lol_


	8. Wishful Thinking Part 4, November 2008

**November 7, 2008**

Dean returned to the motel room with a bag of donuts and a jug of orange juice. Sam was sitting at the table freshly showered and dressed with his laptop. "Half the places are closed, this is the best I could round up," he said, setting breakfast down. "Seems like half the town just wished to be somewhere else."

"Yeah, I was listening to the radio. The school is closed," Sam said.

"That explains why all the rugrats are out at this time," Dean uttered. "How long is it out?"

"At least until after Thanksgiving. Sounds like some kid's wish," Sam said.

Dean nodded, no school would have been one of his wishes as a kid. "So where is Lady? She pissed at me or something?"

Sam looked at him with wide eyes, "Uh, well, she was gone when I got out of the shower. I thought she left to catch up with you to avoid me."

Dean and Sam looked at each other, both of their expressions becoming more serious and concerned as they realized the lost their klutzy friend. "Son of a bitch," Dean snarled.

Sam stood up and put his sneakers on, "We'll find her. She hasn't been gone long."

"I already know where she is," Dean said as they left the motel in a hurry.

On their way to the car they saw a bright yellow Lamborghini, a car that was rare in rich cities, speed past. Out of view they heard tires screeching and a horn honk before the engine loudly revved up again.

The brothers got into their car and quickly drove to the Chinese restaurant. Through the glass store front they saw Lady, alone sitting beside the fountain. Sam offered to watch the car while Dean went inside.

Dean braced himself. He had a few ideas of what Lady might wish for and he wanted to be prepared. He slowly approached her and noticed the fountain had been refilled with water.

Lady glanced at him briefly so he knew she had noticed him, then looked back at the fountain. "Took you longer than I thought it would to get here."

"Traffic was insane," Dean joked humorlessly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am," she said with a sigh. "I kept thinking, all morning, that if I had my visions that I could fix everything. From me tripping over my own feet to knowing how to talk to you." Lady held out her right hand and opened it to show a quarter. "Then I keep thinking how horribly that would go for me."

Dean sat next to her and took the quarter from her hand, relieved that she hadn't cast a wish in the well. "Lady, I'm sorry for…"

"Oh, shut up you pansy," she said tiredly. "I'm so sick of hearing the word 'sorry' that the next time you or dipshit say it, I'm going to shoot you."

Dean nodded and made a mental note to warn Sam.

"I mean, this morning, whatever you are going through, Dean, just go through it. If you want someone to hold your hand you know how to ask. If you are too damn stubborn or proud to do so, that's your fucking problem. But I'm not worried about you, you can handle a lot more than most." Lady let out a frustrated breath. "I've been here almost an hour. Most of that I was trying to figure this damn fountain out. But I've been trying to figure out the perfect wish."

"No such thing," Dean told her. In a rare moment of tenderness and sweetness he put his hand on hers and said, "I got the closest thing to that, and look how you turned out."

"Wow, that was corny," Lady laughed, and laughed even harder when he chuckled with her. "I'm serious, though. I know that anything I wish for will go bad, one way or another."

"Possibly kill you," Dean said seriously.

"Yup," she agreed. "And I remembered I'm one of those wishes." She looked at him, "Dean, maybe the worst I'll be is this. Just not having my visions I nearly killed myself half a dozen times today. And I can get used to it, I'm already a lot better at walking. But I'm pretty sure this wish, the magic that brought me here, is going to end up getting me killed." She saw the look on Dean's face and understood he had come to the same conclusion. "This town is going downhill fast, Dean. We have to stop it, we have to find the person who threw the first coin in and we need to do it soon. Afterwards I will probably be back to how I was. In my head numb and stuck watching a vision I can't get out of."

Dean shook his head, "I can't handle that."

"Can you handle this town going under?" Lady asked him seriously. "I promise you, it won't be long before some asshole comes in and wishes for superpowers and begins to take out civilians. Hell, I thought about it a few times waiting for you to show up."

"We can't end this until…until we figure out another way, Lady," Dean tried to plead with her.

"Dean, I don't know that there is one. I've been over it in my head a hundred times, I don't see a way to shut off the vision I have. But I know you and Sam and Bobby and Maxine…that all of you are trying. And that if there was anyone who could figure a way out for me it'd be…well, sorry babe it probably wouldn't be you, it'll probably be Bobby." Lady smiled slightly, hoping he'd find that funny. But Dean just continued looking at her with a strained expression. Lady let out a huff of breath, "I'm sorry, Dean. I am, I am so sorry. But it isn't like I'm dying. I'll still be alive, and I promise that I'm fighting that vision."

Dean hung his head and slumped his shoulders in defeat, "I know you are, babe, but doesn't change what it's done to you."

"Here is what will happen," Lady said softly. "Either you stop Lucifer from rising, in which case my vision will no longer be relevant and will stop on it's on, then I'll be fine. Or Lucifer rises and we all die anyway. No pressure."

Lady moved an arm around Dean's back and leaned against him until her head was on his shoulder. Dean rested his face against her fuzzy head and held her back. Silently he was glad they still had work to do on the case. Probably a good few days of research, maybe even longer. It'd give him more time to pretend Lady wasn't going to leave.

Behind his back he heard a plunk of a coin dropping into the water. He pulled back from the hug and looked at Lady with surprise. Lady just shrugged innocently, "Ah, c'mon, a working wishing well! You knew I had to try it out."

"Damn it, Lady," he snarled. "What'd you wish for?"

She smiled, "Something simple, not so dangerous. I wished that the person who activated the fountain would come to this door within the next minute. How can that turn bad?"

Lady thought she was rather clever and adorable for that wish. However as the seconds ticked by they watched the front door and no one appeared. After nearly sixty seconds the only thing that happened was the wind picked up and a newspaper blew up against the door.

"That's it," Dean said in a low voice, going to the front door. He unlocked it and opened it to retrieve the newspaper. "What if he's in this newspaper."

"I don't think anyone can fit inside a newspaper. Unless they wished to be really small. And if that's the case how will we get them to pull the coin out?" Lady asked in confusion.

Dean looked at her in confusion for a moment then said, "As in there is an article on him, and whatever he wished on."

"Oh!" Lady's cheekbones blushed pink in embarrassment. "Okay, I'm a fucking idiot."

Dean gave her a sad look. Now that they had a solid lead it may only be hours until their time together was done. But she was right, he couldn't leave this town to suffer. And there was the possibility that his own wish for her would still turn back to kill either of them.

They returned to the motel where Dean and Sam began dissecting the newspaper front to back looking for their answer. And then Dean found it in the engagement announcements.

"Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hope Lynn Casey have announced their surprise engagement," Dean read. He showed them the black and white photograph of a gorgeous woman beaming with happiness with her arms wrapped around a stereotypically geeky looking guy. "After just a month of dating."

"From the timeline we figured out so far that sounds about right," Sam said. "Best lead we have."

"Let's go congratulate the happy couple," Dean said, grabbing the keys and leading the way.

On the drive to Wesley's they saw the town had deteriorated a bit more. Emergency services had been called to a car accident involving the supped up sports car. Kids were running around like wild animals. Lady could feel it in her bones, chaos was brewing just under the surface. And it was exciting.

Wesley Mondale's home was a small ranch house on the edge of town. The town was too small to have a 'bad side' but if it did it would be where he lived. The three of them approached the door and knocked. After a moment Hope answered the door, looking bright-eyed and excited at having guests. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Hi, you must be Hope the blushing bride," Dean said, offering her his hand.

"Yes, I am!" She said, grinning from ear-to-ear from being referred to as such. "You are the florists, aren't you!"

"Why yes, yes we are," Dean said. It was sometimes so much easier to be what someone wanted them to be, than make up some other identity.

Hope squealed for joy and motioned for them to follow her in. Wesley was sitting in his recliner as they entered the cluttered living room. Hope praised him for apparently calling the florists and then jumped up to get her magazines.

Wesley looked at them uncomfortably and after Hope had left asked, "You aren't florists, are you?"

"Doesn't matter who we are, Wesley," Dean said.

"It's Wes," he corrected.

"Okay, Wes. What matters is what we know," Dean said.

Sam looked over some framed coin collections and pointed at them, "Coin collector, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. My grandfather gave them to me," Wes said.

"Looks lovely. Lose any lately?" Lady asked.

"And when she says 'lose' she really means did you drop one into a wishing well at Lucky Chin's and make a wish on it?" Dean accused.

"No…" Wes said too quickly for him to be honest.

They went quiet as Hope returned with a stack of magazines. "Okay, now. I have a lot of ideas, but, you know, we don't have all the money in the world. Wes is between jobs right now. Means more time for me. You know, I'm thinking a Japanese-y ikebana kind of thing," she looked at them with large hopeful eyes.

Lady looked at her sadly. The smile was beautiful and wide, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Hope, won't you tell us the story of how you two lovebirds met?" Lady asked.

"Oh, the best day of my life!" Hope beamed. "It's the funniest thing. We both grew up here, but I never really knew who he was. Not by name anyway. Until one day last month, it was like I just, I just saw him for the first time. He was just... glowing. Oh, just glowing." Hope leaned into Wes and gave him several loving kisses.

"Uh, babe, can you get us some coffee?" Wes asked, gently pushing her away.

"Yes!" Hope jumped up, happy to serve.

Lady waited until Hope was in the kitchen and glared at Wes. She wanted to be mad at him, but all she saw was a skinny man who looked rather pathetic and lonesome. "Wes, we know what is going on. Time to talk before we decide to make you talk," Lady said.

He hung his head in defeat and began. "My grandfather found the coin in north Africa, you know, World War II. And, uh, he brought it back. He, um, he said it was a real wish-granting coin, but that nobody should ever use it. Um...It was all I had, and when he died, I thought, 'Well, you know what? Why not give the coin a shot?'"

"Yeah, well, now you're gonna wish it back," Sam said.

"Oh, oh no, I'm not," Wes said, chuckling at the thought.

"If you don't something bad is going to happen," Lady warned.

"Something bad, like us," Sam emphasized, grabbing Wes's shoulder and squeezing enough to make his eyes go wide.

Dean smiled, "We really wish you'd come with us."

Back in the Impala Lady was sitting in the backseat beside Wes. He was slumped in defeat, his arms folded across his chest and nearly pouting.

"I don't get it. So, my wish came true. Why does that have to be a bad thing?" He asked.

"Because the wishes go south, Wes. Your town is going insane," Sam said sympathetically.

"C'mon, you're gonna sit there and tell me that your relationship with Hope is functional? That it's what you wished for?" Dean questioned.

"I wished she would love me more than anything," Wes answered.

"How is that working for you? Does that seem healthy to you?" Lady asked.

"Well, it's a hell of a lot better than when she didn't know I was alive," Wes muttered.

"You're not supposed to get what you want, man, not like this. Nobody is. That's what the coin does. It takes your heart's desires and it twists it back on you. You hear of the whole, uh, 'be careful what you wish for'? Well there is a reason people say that," Dean said.

"Yeah, because it's one of the fun ways to curse people," Lady said thoughtfully.

"You know who says things like that? Good-looking jerks like you guys, the ones who've got it so easy because you happen to be handsome," Wes snapped.

"Easy?" Sam turned in his seat to look at Wes in surprise.

"Easy?" Dean scoffed, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yeah. Women look at you, right? They notice you, want to be with you," Wes clarified.

Sam laughed, "Believe us, we do not have it easy."

Dean snorted angrily. "Easy? My girlfriend has been less responsive than a zombie the past three months, and when this is over she's going back to that. Easy my ass."

"Do we really need to air this out in front of the idiot we just kidnapped?" Lady leaned forward.

"I'm about to lose my chance to bitch about this," Dean countered. "Listen, Wes, the point is we are miserable bastards. We never get what we want, and the few times we do it gets ripped out of our hands. We have to fight tooth and nail just to keep whatever it is we got."

"You know what? Hope loves me now, completely. And it's awesome. Besides, look around. Where's all this, uh, insanity you guys were talking about?" Wes asked, trying in vain to keep his new life.

Dean slowed down to turn the corner, and they saw a group of three kids trapped in a large SUV. Outside the car was another small boy. They all watched in surprise as the small boy grabbed the SUV and began to lift it up as if it were nothing, the kids inside were screaming in terror.

"Well, that insane enough for you?" Dean asked.

"Oh, jesus!" Lady hissed as the SUV tipped over.

Dean put the car in Park. "I'll handle this. You get Wes to Lucky Chin's," He ordered Sam. He looked back at Lady, "Stay in the car."

"Dean, be careful," Lady said.

Dean felt the surge of adrenaline, the familiar feeling he got when he was at the peek of the job. Where every second mattered, where someone could die instantly if he wasn't at his best, where he could die or he could lose someone. He knew Sam was going to take Wes to the fountain, and then everything should go back to normal. He reached into the backseat and pulled Lady forward to awkwardly kiss her one last time.

"I'll see you soon," she promised him.

Sam slid across the seat to take the wheel as Dean went to handle the kids. He drove the short distance left to the restaurant.

Wes was beginning to feel the weight of what he had started with his first wish. "That kid, he turned over that car like it was nothing."

"Yup. Now the fun is over. Time to pull the coin out of the well," Sam said, exiting the car. He opened the back door and pulled Wes out. "Lady, stay here."

Lady sighed, disappointed she was put on the sidelines. She watched Sam lead Wes to the restaurant. And she jumped out of her seat when out of nowhere a bolt of lightening struck down, hitting Sam dead-on.

Lady let out a squeak of a scream, too shocked for several seconds to even breathe. She barely noticed Wes went into the restaurant for cover, all she saw was Sam laid out on the sidewalk. "Oh no," she finally breathed, and hurried to get out of the car. She tripped after a few steps and crawled the rest of the way to Sam. She put her hand on the side of his neck, and let out a choked sob when she felt no pulse. "No, Sam…oh god," she covered her mouth and felt hot tears rolling down. As pissed off at him she had been she couldn't remember it then, she only felt the loss of a beloved friend.

Lady looked up and sniffed, trying to hold herself together. She saw through the glass door Wes and Hope standing beside the fountain, and she immediately knew Hope had got there first and had wished for what had happened to Sam. As long as that was the case Lady believed it could be reversed. With that thought burning in her mind she took Sam's pistol from the back of his waistband and stepped into the restaurant.

Sam's pistol was much larger than Lady liked, she needed both hands to hold it properly. She stayed low as she entered the restaurant and heard Wes and Hope talking.

"You wished a man dead?" Wes accused Hope.

"I love you more than anything," Hope said.

"Stop saying that! Stop it!" Wes begged her.

"But I do. More than anything. More than me. More than life. Oh, Wes. Don't hate me. He was going to make you wish away our love," Hope pleaded with him.

Lady stepped up and extended the pistol. Wes and Hope both put their hands up. "Please, don't shoot," Wes pleaded.

"You see what you made, Wes?" Lady said in a thick voice. She tried hard to focus on the job, that if things went correctly Sam could come back to life.

"If you make him wish away our love you'll die too," Hope threatened.

"I figured as much," Lady hissed. "Wes, I won't make you do anything. But in thirty seconds I'm pulling the trigger. Now my aim sucks. I might hit you, I might hit her. Hell, I might hit myself. You ready to find out who I hit?"

"No, okay. I'll make it okay. It's going to be okay," Wes said, bending into the fountain and grabbing the coin.

Lady immediately felt the affects of the magic that had brought her there slipping away. In preparation she made sure the safety of the gun was on, and barely had time to set it on a nearby table before her knees collapsed under the weight of magic. She fought hard against an incoming vision, so bright it was like looking into the sun…

Outside Sam woke up, and stiffly got to his feet. Wes and Hope came outside. Hope went one way, and Wes offered Sam the coin that had been stuck to the well. His shoulders slumped down, but he walked away without trying to keep the coin.

Sam saw Lady sitting on the floor of the restaurant and went inside. "Lady, are you…" Sam stopped as he saw the too-familiar blank stare in her eyes. "Sorry, Lady," he said softly.

**November 8, 2008**

The town made a complete switch over the course of a day. Dean had the car packed up, Lady passively and unresponsively sitting in the backseat.

"Got the coin melted down," Sam said, putting the last bag in the trunk so Dean could close it. He looked at Lady through the back window, "Going to be a long drive with her like that."

"Yeah," Dean agreed shortly.

"Uh, Dean, listen, uh…" Sam fought with the words while Dean looked at him expectantly. Not sure what to say Sam offered Dean a small box.

Dean took the box and stared at it as if it was an alien about to lay eggs. He knew what was in the box, a small ring that had been meant for Lady. At a desperate moment in his life before he went to hell he got the ring at a pawn shop, but hadn't given it to her. He couldn't even remember if he ever really intended to give it to her or not, and what it was supposed to mean if she accepted it.

"I never told Lady, but I kept this safe. You never asked about it when you got back, I wasn't sure what to do with it," Sam said.

Dean sighed and put it in his jeans pocket, "Thanks," was all he said.

Sam nodded once, understanding that was all he'd get. He walked around the car toward the passenger seat when Dean called to him, "Hang on." Sam stopped mid-stride, then walked back behind the Impala.

"What?" he asked.

"You were right," Dean told him. "I shouldn't have lied to you. I do remember everything that happened to me in the Pit. Everything."

Sam was taken aback for a brief moment, not expecting this spontaneous honesty from his brother. He regained his composure and prepared for the worst when he said, "So tell me about it."

"No," Dean said simply. "I won't lie anymore. But I'm not gonna talk about it."

"Dean, look, you can't just shoulder this thing alone. You got to let me help," Sam said, more than ready to do that.

"How? Do you really think that a little heart-to-heart, some sharing and caring, is gonna change anything? Hmm? Somehow... heal me? I'm not talking about a bad day here. The things that I saw...there aren't words. There is no forgetting. There's no making it better. Because it is right here in my head forever. You wouldn't understand. And I could never make you understand. So I am sorry." Dean said it matter-of-factly as possible.

It was obvious to Sam it wasn't that easy, but he had to take whatever Dean would give him. Without another word Dean got into the car, and Sam followed him. In the backseat Lady began chewing on her flip-flop.


	9. Heaven and Hell, Part 1, Nov 2008

**November 8, 2008**

In a remote village in the Domincan Republic there was an old wooden church. It had been built by a group of missionaries seventy years earlier. Shortly after the construction of the church the group of missionaries reportedly got lost in the jungle never to be seen again. Over the decades priests had been sporadically sent to work at the church, the last one also reportedly got lost in the jungle. That had been twenty years previous.

Pico was an old man who began taking care of the church when it was first erected in the middle of their village. Then he had been just a boy, but he had always believed the church to be a cursed place. Missionaries, priests, nuns, any and all who were called to that church to speak God's word went into his service early.

Though the whole village had been converted and all considered the church a holy place, there was still an amount of superstition that surrounded the church. Pico was the only one who still entered the church, polishing the wooden pews and wiping down the stained glass windows. He was safe because though he knew of the church's curse, he also protected it. For over seventy years, since he was just a boy, it was his job, his own curse, to guard what the church was there to conceal.

Pico wasn't a man of the lord, but he was one of great faith. He was not blind to what was happening in the world, and all he could pray was that he and his village would be spared the ugliness that was out there. When he heard the first children squealing excitedly about newcomers his stomach dropped to his knees, he knew his prayers had not been answered then.

Moving as quickly as his old bones could he rang the church bells. Forty years ago everyone would know that was a sign of danger, to run and hide. But people were young, stupid, and arrogant anymore. The stood outside their homes, mouths agape at the tiny white girl with her accompanying dark-skinned men. They walked right up to the church.

Pico stood at the altar as the door split in half and squeaked open. He couldn't help but think 'I need to remember to oil the hinges' as the intruders approached. He heard the sizzle and saw scorched footprints of the damned left over as they walked upon the holy ground.

The young girl was so sweet looking and smiled up at him, "Hi, my name is Lilith. What's yours?"

"_Mi nombre es Pico_," he answered fearfully.

Lilith smiled happily at him, "Is this the Holy Cathedral of Saint Ana?"

"_Si, Santa Ana_," Pico answered in a trembling voice.

Her eyes rolled up until her head so only white showed, and then a blinding hot white flash erupted from her palms. The church that had stood for over seventy years trembled, its very foundation cracking as it's beams lost their support and it's roof was obliterated.

The screams started. The little demon girl just smiled at her companions, silently telling them to have their fun. With a skip she jumped over Pico's ashes and onto what was left of the altar. With superhuman strength she removed some large pieces of rubble and unearthed a hidden underground catacomb. Gleefully she hopped down into the crypt. The remains of missing missionaries and priests were all there, along with the bones of a witch doctor who had been murdered by holy men so they could convert his village. His remains would allow her to break her thirteenth seal. With the thrust of her tiny fist easily broke into the stone he was encased in.

The bones of the witch doctor had been well preserved considering the humid weather in the area. As she admired his bones she noticed writing scratched into the stone he had been encased in. She immediately recognized the language as Enochian. With a low hiss she looked around suspiciously, the damn angels were everywhere and impeding her progress. But there was no flutter of heavenly wings or flash of smiting light. Gathering everything she and her demonic henchmen left before any angels could catch up to them.

**November 9, 2008**

Bobby examined the crude map, cursing under his breath at the idjit who had made it. The Dominican Republic was a popular vacation location these days with it's gorgeous beaches, however getting out of those tourists traps and into the heart of the country was a pain in the ass.

Maxine was waiting for Bobby with a look of humor and patience. If the stubborn old man wanted to do this his way, even when they were wrong, she could let him do that. However in the name of teamwork she suggested, "Maybe we should just keep following the road."

"We've been doing that the past two days, and we've gotten nowhere," Bobby gruffed.

"Actually we've been to many places," Maxine calmly reminded him. "There are several _Catedral Santa Ana_ out here, we just have to keep searching for the right one."

"Yeah, and none of the locals are willing to tell a couple of outsiders the history of any of them. Or let us see what's buried beneath," Bobby grumbled.

They knew so little of what they were up against. They knew Lilith had to break sixty-six seals, but that there were hundreds of seals. Bobby was willing to bet the magic number was 666, but he couldn't find that out for sure. While researching he came across a poorly translated text that mentioned a witch doctor who had been entombed with the secret of the apocalypse, the seals, their locations, and how to break them. A real How-To book on freeing Lucifer. All Bobby knew was that if it was real he had to act fast. It was fortunate that he had kept his passport in good order. It was unfortunate that he didn't have the boys with him, but getting them passports would have taken weeks. However Maxine not only had a passport, she also had the cash to fund her own plane ticket and make accommodations for them.

Maxine was also very talented in her own right. Not a hunter, but a Native American medicine woman. She was moderately psychic, a skilled witch, and a dedicated tomboy. Growing up in North Dakota she hunted with her fathers and brothers. Though definitely feminine she was built very strong, six feet tall and dense with muscle.

Their rented truck bounced on the poorly kept road until they began noticing signs of a village. Bobby said that if this wasn't what they were looking for they were giving up. They had already been there for three days, he needed to get back home. But when they got past the thick trees and saw the village they both knew instantly that they had found the right place, and that they were too late.

The center of the village was flattened, the church and a few nearby homes were reduced to rubble. Bodies were laying on the ground, men, women, and children alike.

Bobby went straight to the church, leaving Maxine to check the bodies. They seemed to have died in various ways. Some dismembered, others crushed, others slashed. She saw bits of sulfur on some bodies, proving to her that it was demons. Maxine had given up hope of finding any survivors before she had got out of the truck, so when she went to check for a pulse on a young man she jumped back in shock when he gasped in at her touch and whimpered in fear.

"Don't move!" Maxine said in a soft but urgent voice. She put her hands on his skin, we was almost freezing cold with blood loss. She offered him water from the bottle she carried and helped him drink. Neither her or Bobby could get a cell phone to work in the remote locations they had been traveling to, and neither of them could get a satellite phone on such short notice. They were out there in the middle of no where, at least a days drive to the closest hospital that had a hope of saving the young man's life.

The man sputtered and coughed, and uttered one word. "Lilith." He collapsed and stopped breathing.

"You okay?" Bobby called.

Maxine looked at him with large sad eyes, "This man just died right here in my arms. No, I am not okay," she told him.

Bobby held up a small block of stone with etched writing on it. "It was here. It's gone now. One of them beat us here."

Maxine nodded, "Yes. It was Lilith."

XXXXX

In Elgin, Illinois Anna sat with her sketch pad facing her barred windows. Ever since she had stopped the demon from killing Lady she had been in a locked room alone. And one of the nurses had told her that Lady was now missing. She feared that the demons only she could see had returned and killed her quiet friend.

Anna inhaled a shuddering breath as she heard the angels speak.

_The Stone of Seals has been found. Lilith has it._

_ We must get it back before she can understand it._

_ It doesn't matter if she can understand it, it only matters that she cannot use it. We can easily destroy the Eye of the Seer, it's always staring out a window drooling._

_ I do not approve of such action._

_ Would you rather Lilith gain instant access to over six-hundred seals? We get rid of the seer like we should have the instant we discovered what she was._

_ We do nothing, until ordered to do so._

Anna let out a soft whimper as the voices quieted again. She went back to her sketch pad, beginning to write what she just heard. As it neared time for bed an orderly came to provide her with her medication, but she was horrified to see it was a demon. Surprising herself as much as the demon she managed to defend herself and knock him down. Feeling in danger she fled the hospital that had been her safe sanctuary since October.

**November 10, 2008**

**Fargo, North Dakota**

Driving with Lady while she was incapacitated was difficult. Normally the brothers could make the trip back to Elgin in one day of non-stop driving, but to make it easier on all of them they were making regular rest stops and were preparing to depart from their night in a Fargo motel room. Lady mostly stayed passive, though there were a few times when she would let out a high-pitched howl for no apparent reason. Or grab at her head and rock herself in the backseat of the car.

Dean pulled into a gas station so they could be on their way, another ten hours or so and they could be at Bobby's so they could have another night off from driving, and then one more day to Elgin to return Lady to her hospital. He was fueling the car while Sam went inside to grab food and pay. While putting the nozzle back for the gas pump Dean saw a cute little sports car pull up, and his jaw clenched down tight when Ruby stepped out. Sam was already coming out of the gas station while Dean was approaching the demon.

"Well, you got a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near me," Dean said. His hand itching for the demon killing knife, however Sam had it.

"I just have some info, and then I'm gone," Ruby said, putting up her hands in a show of submission. She looked to Sam who appeared ready to step between them if things got violent, "I'm hearing a few whispers. Girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently, some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter-egg hunt."

"Why? Who is she?" Sam asked.

"I don't know much. She must be important because the order is to capture her alive. If you want any more information on our mysterious girl perhaps you should ask your pal Lady. They used to be room mates in the nuthouse."

Sam and Dean looked at each other with wide eyes, surprised. But recognition crossed Sam's face, "Anna Milton. That's who attacked Lady right before she came to us." Sam looked at Ruby, "How did you hear about this?"

Ruby immediately saw the slight accusation and calmly said, "After you told me Lady was making sense I made a quick pass to see if anything demonic was happening. Turns out whatever protective mojo you and the old man did around Lady wore off, demons found out she was living large and fashionable in straight jackets. They might have left her alone if they didn't know it'd piss you guys off to just get rid of her for good. No one really cares as long as she's out of the way, she can't even participate in funny banter the way she is now. But instead of offing Lady all anyone can chatter about is the new girl Anna." Ruby glanced at the back of Dean's car where she saw Lady blowing raspberries against the window. "I guess they figure Lady's not a threat."

"Dean, we need to check into Anna Milton. It's connected to Lady somehow," Sam said.

"Yeah, we'll think about it," Dean said stubbornly, not wanting to take the demon's intel. He grabbed Sam by the sleeve of his jacket and pulled his little brother away from the demon skank. But once they were back in the car the argument started.

"Dean, there is no way we can not look into this. What are you going to do? Ignore it and just drop Lady off pretending Ruby never told us any of that? Cross your fingers that she was lying and that demons don't really know where she is?"

Dean knew all of that, and was just too pissed off about Ruby that he still was trying to find a way out of it. He glanced in his rearview and Lady's blank pale-blue eyes were staring back at him. Defenseless, helpless, dependent on others just to eat. It made him sick thinking about it, but there she was. They couldn't fix her, only time and stopping Lilith from raising Lucifer would do that. Until then Lady needed their help, and there was no way they could ignore Ruby's lead.

They went straight to Elgin, Illinois. They could have put Lady at Bobby's house, lock her in the panic room, and only lose a few hours. However leaving her unsupervised and unprotected was a poor option. Driving the most direct route Sam could find they arrived in Elgin in the late afternoon. They rented themselves a hotel room so they could have somewhere to change into their suits, and again thought about leaving Lady in the room alone, however if anyone found her tied to the bed out of her mind like she was it would cause more problems than it would be solving. So she came with, handcuffed to the car door so she couldn't wander off while they worked.

At the hospital the brothers learned about Anna, and that her delusions were all about the very real apocalypse. From there they learned where her parents lived and took the trip to see them. But when they got to Anna's home her parents had been murdered, and there was no sign of her. They got some clues and quickly decided the next place to check would be Anna's church.

Before leaving they looked at Lady. Helpless and mindless in the backseat of the car. The job had been dangerous from the beginning, but now two civilians were dead. "What do we do?" Sam asked Dean. The mental hospital was looking for her, it was only half an hour away but not particularly safe. There was still the motel room, or Pamela who lived just a few hours away, or even calling the Mason's.

"What can we do? We already know demons are here, and they want her dead. They want us all dead. We have to stick together," Dean said.

"She's a sitting duck in the car," Sam said quietly as if she could understand him and find that offensive.

"She's a sitting duck anywhere," Dean muttered bitterly.

They drove to Anna's church and left Lady in the car with her hand still handcuffed to the door handle so she couldn't leave if she figured out how to open the door, it was the best they could do for her.

Unknown to Sam and Dean they had been followed from Anna's home. A demon by the name of Alastair had been tasked with retrieving Anna. He had killed her parents and then sat and waited, expecting Anna to be along in due time. Instead he saw the Winchesters, heard them deduce where Anna would be, and followed them from there. While they were inside the church a demon sauntered to the Impala. He looked inside to Lady who didn't seem to notice his presence. There was an open order for her death, but at the moment she was a bargaining chip. Anna alive and unharmed was priority number one. He opened the backdoor and leaned over to smile in at Lady while his eyes turned white. "Hello darling, we've been looking for you. No, no screaming now. Plenty of time for screaming later."

With his hand over her mouth to muffle any cries he pulled her out of the car, snapping the handcuffs in the process, and easily dragging her into the church. Up in the belfry he could hear voices and calmly walked up the stairs.

There he found Sam and Dean, along with Ruby. He could smell the presence of Anna in hiding. He could care less about the others in the belfry, Anna was the prize he wanted. Lady wasn't half bad herself, but not nearly as exciting as having Anna. Once the news that Anna could hear the angels talking reached Lilith the order to take her alive went out. And when the first demon failed horribly Alastair was pulled out of his nice and comfortable corner of hell to do the job right and proper. He was rather pissed that he had to come up and breath air, but the chance to see his apprentice again was making up for that.

Dean looked at him and the only thing he cared about was the squirmy empty shell of Lady he held. "Let her go," Dean demanded.

"Haha," the demon chuckled. He looked at Sam who was trying to use his psychic abilities to excise him, "That tickles. You don't have the juice to take me on, Sam." With a gentle wave of his hand Sam flew backwards. "You want your little Lady, Dean? Trade you for the other crazy girl," he offered to Dean.

Dean pulled out the demon-killing knife and shifted on his feet as he thought of a way to safely get Lady out of the demon's hand. But to his surprise the demon released Lady and threw her away, it seemed eager to meet Dean's blade. Dean surged forward, but the demon was faster and easily overpowered him and knocked the knife out of his hand. "Hello again, Dean," the demon said silkily.

Dean was pinned by the demon and Sam was retrieving the knife. Ruby grabbed Lady off the ground and grabbed Anna from her hiding place, and ran like hell.

"Come on, Dean. Don't you recognize me? Oh, I forgot, I'm wearing a pediatrician. But we were so close... in Hell," the demon cooed to him.

Dean's eyes widened in surprise, "Alastair," he realized, and a chill ran up his spine.

From behind Sam stabbed Alastair with the knife. Alastair released Dean and moved away. With a bit of stretching he pulled the knife out of his back, completely unharmed. "You're gonna have to try a whole lot harder than that, son."

Sam and Dean did the only thing they could do. They fled. With a running start they jumped right out the stain glass window. Rolling to absorb the impact and quickly got back to their feet. The first few steps were shaky but then they were running to the car. "Where's Lady?" Dean shouted, and almost turned back.

"Ruby took her, she's safe," Sam promised.

Dean didn't entirely trust that, but decided the best they could do was run for it.

XXXXX

Back at the motel the brothers took a moment reprieve, feeling safe within the salt and demon trap guarded room. They tended to their injuries and after Sam assured Dean for the fourth time that Anna and Lady would be safe with Ruby Dean demanded to know how a demon could become so close to Sam.

Sam confessed to Dean almost everything. From when he had given up resurrecting Dean after Lady nearly barbecued herself, to his downward spiral and suicide missions to get revenge on Lilith. He told Dean that Ruby had saved his life, more than once. And got him back on track. And then he told Dean what he hadn't had the courage to tell anyone.

"The night Lady's brain fried Ruby was there," Sam said. Dean looked beyond pissed hearing that. "She tried to save her, too. Ruby didn't know about the vision, but she protected Lady from being torn apart by a demon before I got there."

"I'm just hearing this now?" Dean snarled.

Sam didn't know what to say. At first he told no one because he didn't want them to know he was working with Ruby. And after Dean found out he had wanted to minimize the damage. It didn't even seem important now that they knew Lady's condition was because of her own vision instead of some other magic. The only reason it mattered now was to help Dean trust Ruby.

"I took care of that demon, I tracked it down and it's dead," Sam promised. "The point I'm trying to get across is that I know Ruby is a demon. But after everything she has done for me, for us, I trust her."

Dean was far from happy, but was bitterly acknowledging that he was coming around to accept the demon.

Ruby managed to get in contact with them and gave them a rendezvous spot that was safe. She assured the boys that the girls were just fine, but that they had to hurry and make sure they weren't followed.

**November 11, 2008**

Ruby hated babysitting Anna and Lady, but hid it well. Anna was able to keep Lady passive and quiet, holding her hand and talking softly. It was a hard when her instincts, her very being, told her to dismember the women and enjoy it. Play with the fun bits, get messy and when she was done not clean up after herself. But she had to help Sam, she needed him and Dean to trust her.

She was waiting for them in a roughly kept cabin, but for the moment it was safe and secure.

Sam and Dean arrived early in the morning, hours before sunrise. Dean looked over Lady who was staying close to Anna, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she seems to be," Anna said. "Lady needs very special care, and she can't communicate. We need somewhere safe for her."

"Believe me, we know," Dean uttered. "Are you okay, Anna?"

Anna nodded, "Yes. I think so. Ruby is not like other demons. She saved our lives."

"Yeah, I hear she does that," Dean muttered.

Anna looked at Dean hopefully. "Do you think it's safe to make a quick call? I just want to tell my parents I'm okay," Anna looked at him hopefully.

Dean could only stare at her for a moment, he didn't want to tell her that both of her parents were dead. And right then all he could say was, "I'm sorry."

Anna's eyes widened, "No…no, they…they aren't…are they?"

Dean looked down, unable to stand the pain filling her eyes. And as he did so he noticed Lady gently move her hand to cover Anna's in a comforting way. Anna squeezed her hand immediately and leaned to Lady as she began crying.

Dean was surprised and amazed at the simple gesture from Lady. He'd seen several things from Lady to show that she was there, somewhere under the blank eyes and shaved head, that she was processing information from around her surroundings. Like she had promised him the other day, she was fighting that vision. There had to be a way to help her.

Anna sniffed loudly and in a slight panic said, "They are coming."

Dean took that warning seriously from her, "Get in the back room." He grabbed Lady's arm without thinking twice. Lady let out a strangled scream at the unwanted contact and thrashed out at him. Anna, wasting no time, grabbed Lady and pulled her to the back room while calming her.

With the girls safe the others got ready to defend them.

"Where is the knife?" Ruby asked.

"Uh…yeah, about that," Dean shrugged.

"You're kidding," Ruby snarled at him.

"Hey, don't look at me," Dean said, looking at Sam accusingly.

"Nice going," Ruby snapped at Sam.

There was no more time to point fingers. The door rattled before coming completely off its hinges.

Dean felt a bit of relief when instead of Alastair it was the angels Castiel and Uriel. "Please tell me you're here to help. We've been having demon issues all damn day."

"Well, I can see that," Uriel said in a low tone as he looked at Ruby. "You want to explain why you have that stain in the room?"

Ruby stood ramrod straight, believing any second she was going to be struck down. She was purely terrified.

"We are here for Anna," Castiel said.

"Here for her?" Dean looked at the angels suspiciously. "Like, here for her?"

"Stop talking. Give her to us," Uriel demanded.

"Are you going to help her?" Sam asked, confused.

"No, she has to die," Castiel admitted.

"What? Why?" Sam demanded to know.

"Out of the way," Uriel rumbled.

"Whoa, wait! Okay? I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but it's no reason to gank her," Dean said.

"Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle," Uriel promised.

"You're some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?" Dean accused them.

"As a matter of fact, we are. And?" Castiel questioned.

"And? Anna's an innocent girl." Sam said.

"She is far from innocent," Castiel said. "Give us the girl."

"Sorry. Get yourself another one," Dean said, refusing to give Anna up just so she could be put to death.

"Who is going to stop us? You two? Your demon whore? Your mentally unstable seer?" Uriel taunted him.

Without warning Uriel grabbed Ruby and threw her against the wall, the fragile cabin shuddered with the impact. Sam pleaded with Castiel to stop it, but Castiel just touched Sam on the forehead causing him to collapse. Uriel and Dean went toe-to-toe only briefly while Castiel opened the door to where Anna and Lady hide. Anna activated an Angel Banishing sigil she had drawn on the mirror in her own blood, and bright white light flooded the cabin. When it faded the angels were gone.

"Did you kill them?" Dean asked as he saw the strange symbol written in blood.

"No, I just sent them away. Far away," she said.

"How?" Dean asked. So far they had found nothing to be effective against angels.

"I don't know," Anna admitted. "It just popped in my head. And I did it. I couldn't…I couldn't let them take us." Anna put a protective hand on Lady's shoulder. "They'll be back soon enough."

"Alright, come on," Dean said.

XXXXX

Though Bobby was gone his house was still home to his two cats Ebony and Ivory. If Lady was speaking she'd argue that they were her cats, but it was Bobby who was at home and spent most of his time with them. The cats were taking advantage of Bobby's absence and were enjoying sunning themselves upon his counters and table until Sam and Dean arrived.

Ivory, the all white cat, immediately hissed and snarled as Ruby came into the house. Ebony, the all black cat, sat quiet with wide eyes and a twitching tail.

"Get out of here, go," Dean snapped at the cats. With that both cats scrambled and jumped off the counter, skidded across the linoleum, and went out their cat door. He noticed Lady swaying slightly as she looked out the window at the cats outside. "Hey, come on," he said, grabbing her shoulder to lead her toward the basement.

Lady let out a high whine and pulled away from his hand. He let go immediately before she could start to scream, but he let out his own frustrated growl.

"It's okay, I'll help her," Sam offered. With patient practice Sam offered Lady his hand, and only when she took it did he begin guiding her to the basement.

Dean made sure the house was safe and secure while Sam escorted Anna and Lady to the panic room. Sam did some research on Anna, trying to figure out why the angels said she was no innocent. Maybe the angels were nice and fuzzy, but they didn't kill unnecessarily. Though they didn't have much value of human life, either.

Anna honestly told them she didn't know why the angels would say that and would give anything to know why. The only thing strange about Anna other than her recent hospitalization was another psychotic break when she was three years old, but she had no memory of it. After going back and forth Sam suggested getting additional help, perhaps the help of a psychic. They called Pamela Barnes and she got on a plane to Sioux Falls.

Dean was fighting fatigue as he sat in the panic room, a loaded shotgun resting on his lap. Upstairs Sam was catching a nap while they waited for Pam's plane to arrive.

"You knew Lady?" Anna asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Might not know it from looking at her but she used to be a hunter before this happened to her."

Anna looked at Lady, whom had been her quiet friend for months, in surprise. "What did happen to her?"

"According to Castiel she had a vision of Lucifer rising," Dean said. "Uh, she has some psychic abilities. She figures she's stuck watching it."

"Psychic…" Anna muttered in surprise as she looked at Lady.

Dean shrugged, "She had visions. She used them to her advantage in playing blackjack and people."

Anna watched Dean for a few moments. Mostly he was fighting to stay awake, but she also saw how he looked at Lady with more sadness than one would show for just anyone. "You…you loved her, didn't you?" Anna said in surprise.

Dean looked at her severely. He didn't know her, and it was far from her business. But he answered, "I've been with Lady a long time."

Anna looked at him pitifully, "I'm so sorry." For the whole time Anna knew Lady she had never thought that Lady had family, friends, or a lover. She had a hard time imaging Lady as anything other than the silent and distant room mate that she had been.

Dean looked at his watch and although he had plenty of time he decided he needed to leave right then to go pick Pamela up from the airport. He wanted extra time just to be by himself, and more importantly away from Anna and Lady. He woke Sam up to continue guard duty, and left.

XXXXX

Pamela Barnes had been completely blind since witnessing the angel Castiel's true from, but was managing very well with her new handicap. When her plane landed late in the afternoon she easily maneuvered through the aisles and off the plane, and with her psychic abilities even recognized Dean before he had caught sight of her.

"Looking good, Dean-o," Pamela grinned.

"Not bad yourself," Dean offered. "You have a bag or anything?"

"No need," she said, grabbing on to his arm and walking with him through the airport. "Don't be so nervous, Dean. Not like I'm going to strap you to the wing of a plane."

"I'm not nervous," Dean lied. He hated airports, or anything having to do with planes. Just seeing them drop out of the sky or take off made his stomach clench.

Pamela saw through his lie and laughed happily.

Dean took Pamela back to Bobby's. She introduced herself to Anna and first checked on Lady. She could tell Dean was looking for some hope but couldn't see enough to give him anything. "She's closer to the surface than she has been, but I still don't see that she's ready to snap out of it. To be honest I still don't think she can completely recover from this." Pamela became serious, "You've seen great miracles before, you may see another one. I just can't see the future, Dean."

"I know. Thanks," he said softly.

"Now, to Anna," Pamela said more brightly. "Why don't you lay down, sweetie."

Anna laid down on the panic room cot. After talking with her a while Pamela decided hypnosis may be helpful. Anna was willing and followed the instructions. The hypnosis session turned violent when Pamela tried to get Anna to remember her past, however it worked. It unlocked closed off memories and Anna remembered everything, and understood why she was able to see demons and hear angels. She revealed to them that before she had been human she had been an angel herself.

She explained how when she was an angel she disobeyed and then fell from heaven, becoming human by removing her grace. Knowing there was no way that angels or demons would stop hunting her she told them her best bet was to find her grace, what gave her angelic powers. That way she could defend herself against demons and angels would have a hard time killing her.

Anna was alone in the panic room. The others said they were giving her time to process what she had just learned about herself but now that she remembered she had once been an angel she didn't feel like she needed to process anything. It was all very clear to her. She still felt human, but had the understanding of a celestial being.

Lady was the only one who stayed in the panic room with her, though she barely counted as a person. Anna took the private time to look at her quiet friend with sympathy and new understanding. "Oh, you poor, poor, girl. But how strong you must be if you really are seeing Lucifer," Anna muttered as she looked into Lady's blank eyes.

"She was always pretty tough for her size," Dean said, surprising Anna. "Are you doing okay?"

Anna stood up and nodded, "Yes, yes I am. Thank you." Anna took the fast food container Dean offered. "I can feed her, I know how," she offered while Dean looked at Lady painfully.

"Thanks," he said, rather relieved he wouldn't have to do the humiliating task of treating his girlfriend like an infant.

Anna opened the fast food. Fries and chicken nuggets, easy finger food. "You know it is very impressive that she can witness Lucifer in a vision without suffering a similar fate as Pamela did," Anna said conversationally. "But it has left her so defenseless and in so much danger." Anna tore fries in half so they weren't too long and began feeding Lady. "Sometimes the angels would talk about a seer, and other times about a psychic. I thought they were different, but I think they meant Lady both times."

"What did they say about her?" Dean asked out of curiosity.

"They didn't seem to care much for her either way," Anna said honestly. Anna patiently waited for Lady to chew a piece of chicken, staring into her pale-blue eyes. "The Eye of the Seer," she suddenly uttered.

"What?" Dean asked.

Anna sighed and looked down. "It's very amazing how destinies become intertwined. How out of hundreds of hospitals Lady and I went to the same one." Anna looked at Dean seriously, "Lady's fate is still undetermined. But the angels have discussed the threat of keeping her alive."

"Threat? Look at her, the only person she is a threat to is herself!" Dean snapped angrily.

"That is not true," Anna told him softly.

XXXXX

Upstairs Pamela was gently stroking the neck of the black cat Ebony while the white cat Ivory wound itself around her ankles and purred. She was quiet as she kept psychic tabs on everyone. Dean and Anna were both coming up the stairs while Lady was secured to the panic room cot to stay out of trouble.

"Hey, you got to hear this," Dean said to Sam who was in the library with Ruby.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Tell them," Dean barked to Anna.

"A few days ago Lilith retrieved the Stone of Seals," Anna told them.

"What is that?" Sam asked, setting aside a book he had been looking at.

"It was a large slab of granite with instructions on how to do a ritual. If she can complete that ritual she'll be able to find all of the seals," Anna answered. "There are hundreds of seals, and there are plenty Lilith can easily find and break. But since the angels touched down she has to tip-toe around them. They are guarding many of the seals that she knows of. If she can read the stone she can find more than enough seals that not even angels know about. There would be no way to stop her. It's the ultimate 'How-to' manual for raising Luficer."

"Great. Perfect," Ruby threw her hands up in frustration.

"It isn't completely hopeless. The Stone of Seals isn't going to be an easy ritual to pull off," Anna tried to sound reassuring.

"Get to the best part," Dean said angrily.

"The only thing I know that it requires is the Eye of the Seer," Anna informed them. "There are probably dozens of psychics that have had visions of the apocalypse, but Lady is one they know of for sure. She's the main ingredient. The angels know this and they haven't decided what they want to do with her. But once Lilith finds out she needs her they will be forced to act."

Dean snarled, "Can just imagine Uriel…son of a bitch."

"Maybe Lady should come back with me," Pamela offered. "I know a few other hunters."

Sam shook his head, "As much as we appreciate the offer we can't do that to you. We just found out any second Lilith might be looking for Lady. And angels." Exhausted with the weight of the whole world on his shoulders Sam slumped in his chair. War, they were at war. Not just against hell, either.

"What are you guys going to do? She's just dead weight, you still have to deal with Anna's problems," Pamela said.

"Well, for starters, see if we can get Anna her grace back," Sam said. He explained how he had found a sign of a miracle the same time Anna said she had fallen from heaven. There was a giant tree in Kentucky that may have her magical grace, and if she could get it back she could defend herself. She knew she wouldn't be welcomed back in the ranks of angels, but they wouldn't have a simple time striking her down.


	10. Heaven and Hell, Part 2, Nov 2008

**November 12, 2008**

After putting Pamela back on a plane they loaded up into the car and were on their way to Kentucky. The brothers found where Anna's magical grace touched down, however it was now missing. Unable to turn Anna back into an angel they were at a loss for how to handle the very dangerous problem of both angels and demons looking for them. And the angels were now threatening if they didn't give up Anna that they would send Dean back to hell. They took shelter in barn on an abandoned farmstead. There were old gray bales of hay left over, some rusted tools and a lot of junk, but the roof was sturdy and the inside dry.

Lady would sit on the hay, then stand back up when she got poked by the stiff straws, then sit back down. It continued several times until, out of embarrassment for her, Dean threw his leather jacket down on the bale so she had something to sit on.

"We're so far up shit creek," Dean uttered. He looked hopelessly at Sam, "We need Bobby. We need help."

Sam shrugged, "We tried, Dean. Wherever he is, we can't reach him. He's so far off the grid there we can't get to him." Sam looked at Anna, "Do you really think they'll send Dean back to hell?"

Anna shrugged, "I don't think so, not after all the trouble they went through to raise him from hell. I think it's more likely they'll threaten those he cares about before doing something so drastic."

"Well, that's even better," Dean huffed.

"And what about Alastair and the demons?" Sam looked at Ruby.

"Alastair is one scary dude," Ruby said. "He won't stop, not until he has Anna or she's dead."

"We are between two unstoppable forces, Sam. We are screwed," Dean said.

Sam looked thoughtful for a few moments, "Well…maybe we don't have to be. Why can't we just pit them against each other and get the hell out of the way?"

"That might work, but how do we even get them together?" Ruby asked. Her face fell as she figured out Sam's plan and what her part would have to be.

XXXXX

Dean needed a break and went outside the barn they were using as shelter and was leaning against his car. After several minutes Anna came outside to see him. She found him looking at an old leather-bound journal with a flashlight. He closed the book and shut off the flashlight when he noticed her approaching him.

"Holding up okay?" he asked.

"A little scared, I guess," she admitted. "Dean, I just wanted to thank you guys, for everything. You guys didn't have to help me."

"Yeah, well, you can't say we did the best job here," Dean said bitterly.

"That's okay. You know, maybe I don't deserve to be saved," she said sadly.

"Don't talk like that," Dean said.

"I disobeyed. Lucifer disobeyed. It's our murder one, and I knew it. Maybe I got to pay," Anna said.

Dean could understand that. "Yeah, we've all done things we got to pay for."

"Dean, I got to tell you something. You're not gonna like it," Anna said.

Dean looked a bit surprised and asked, "What?"

"About a week ago, I heard the angels talking...About you...What you did in Hell. Dean, I know. It wasn't your fault. You should forgive yourself," Anna said softly.

Dean's eyes widened, and then he looked away. "Anna, I don't…uh, I don't want to…I can't talk about that," he managed to say.

"I know," Anna said with compassion. "But when you can, you have people that want to help. You are not alone. That's all I'm trying to say."

Anna looked up at him expectantly, seeing the pain brewing just under his eyes. She stretched up and lightly kissed his mouth. When he didn't return it she pulled back and looked him over.

"Dean, this could be our last night on earth," Anna said.

Dean looked away and thought about what Anna was offering. He had never had trouble with women but he had always appreciated those that skipped all of the bull that usually went into a hookup like Anna was doing. However no matter how tempting it was he had to shake his head. "I can't."

Anna looked surprised at his rejection, but then understood. "Because of Lady?"

"Yeah," he answered.

"Sorry," Anna said, moving back and giving him more personal space. But she didn't leave him alone. She casually leaned against the car and asked, "What is she like? When she's normal."

Dean cracked a smile, "Well, she's never normal, for starters. Other than that, I don't know. She's just Lady."

Anna smiled, "I bet she's funny."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, she is. She'd do just about anything for a laugh, too." Dean took a deep breath of the cool night air. "She was…everything. Smart, fearless, beautiful…everything. It was scary how fast she figured out some of the arcane things we came across, like an entire encyclopedia of the occult in her head." Dean chuckled, "But for the life of her she could not remember a damn phone number."

"I wish I knew her. The real her," Anna said longingly.

"Yeah, well I wish she was here now. I'd give anything to have that," Dean said quietly. Even though Lady was in the barn, sleeping on a bale of hay wrapped in his jacket, she wasn't really _there_.

Anna looked at him sympathetically. "I hope you get that some day."

Anna kissed his cheek in parting, and went back to the warmth of the barn. Dean felt like he still needed some time by himself climbed into the Impala. He didn't turn on the engine, there wasn't enough fuel for him to let the engine run. But he sat behind the wheel and enjoyed the feel of the vinyl seat, the familiar smells, the overall comfort of his favorite place on earth. And he fell into an exhausted sleep.

_"Nice view," Lady said from the passenger seat._

_ Dean looked at her in surprise and immediately figured out what was happening. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"_

_ "Probably," Lady answered, giving him a smile and flipping her long dark hair. Dean returned the smile. "Don't get ahead of yourself, it isn't going to be that kind of dream."_

_ Lady got out of the Impala, and Dean did the same. "What's this?" Dean asked, looking around their surroundings. When he looked back at Lady she was standing beside Uriel._

_ "Look at that. It's so cute when monkeys wear clothes," Uriel chuckled._

_ Dean scowled at the angel, pissed he was intruding on his dreams. "I don't normally see you off your leash. Where is your boss?"_

_ "Castiel? Oh, he's not here. See, he has this weakness. He likes you," Uriel explained. The angel put a casual hand on Lady's shoulder. "Time's up, boy. We want the girl."_

_ "Too late. She got her grace back," Dean bluffed._

_ Uriel gave him a cocky smile, "That would be a neat trick, considering I have her grace right here." Uriel showed Dean a locket that hung around his neck. "Now this is your last chance. Give us the girl, or…"_

_ "Or what?" Dean snapped. "You're gonna toss me back in the hole? You're bluffing."_

_ "Maybe so," Uriel smiled cruelly. He put his hand on Lady's head and as if removing a wig pulled away her hair, leaving it so it was only fuzz like it was now. "But you still have pressure points. Like this annoying little seer, for example." Uriel smiled cruelly, "What she is, it's barely living. Or your demon-loving brother. I wouldn't think twice about getting rid of both of them."_

_ "Son of a bitch," Dean uttered, but wasn't entirely surprised at Uriel's threats._

_ Uriel's grin widened as he realized he had Dean exactly where he wanted him._

Dean woke up with the chirping of birds, his stomach twisting with worry.

XXXXX

Dean went into the barn. Anna was sitting with Lady on the hay, lightly stroking the fuzz of hair on her head. Sam was leaning against a wall resting his eyes.

"Where is Ruby?" he asked.

Sam snapped alert immediately and got to his feet. "I don't know," Sam admitted. "Maybe we should…"

His words cut off as the barn doors opened. Castiel and Uriel walked in.

"Hello, Anna. It's good to see you," Castiel said in a pleasant tone.

Anna stood up straight. She looked at Dean, "You did the best you could, it's okay. I forgive you," she said, offering him the slightest smile. "Take care of Lady, okay?"

Dean nodded, "I will."

Anna stood facing Castiel, her heart hammering in her chest in fear. But then the doors busted open once again. Alastair and another demon, along with Ruby who was barely standing, came in.

"How dare you come in this room you pussing sore," Uriel snarled at the demons.

"Name calling? That hurt my feelings. You sanctimonious, fanatical prick," Alastair sneered back.

"Turn around and walk away now," Castiel warned.

"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper," Alastair said. "Give me the dumb bald one, too. I'll fix her up nice and pretty for you, Dean."

Dean glanced out the corner of his eye. Lady was sitting in the same spot, his jacket over her shoulders and a blank look on her face. Sam moved to position himself between Lady and everyone else, ready to grab her and run if needed.

"I won't say it again. Leave now, or we lay you to waste," Castiel warned the demons.

"I think I'll take my chances," Alastair chuckled.

The angels and demons began fighting. Sam left Lady in her spot, relatively safe, and went to retrieve Ruby who was too weak to protect herself. Dean provided some assistance to the angels by preventing Alastair from sending Castiel back to heaven. While chaos was going on Anna grabbed the locket from around Uriel's neck that held her grace and smashed it on the ground.

Anna felt her grace, the beautiful energy and angelic power, fill her. She screamed a warning for the humans to close their eyes, but she was unsure if they heard her before she became completely consumed with the raw power.

When the bright white light faded Alastair had vanished. Castile and Uriel stood there, defeated. "What are you guys waiting for? Go get her, unless you are scared," Dean taunted them.

"This isn't over," Uriel snarled.

"Looks over to me," Dean said, getting to his feet.

"Dean!" Sam called.

Dean looked at his brother urgently, expecting to see some serious and grave injury. "What?"

"Lady is gone," Sam said.

Dean looked and sure enough, only his leather jacket remained where Lady had been. He immediately looked at Castiel and Uriel accusingly.

"It wasn't us," Castiel said. Castiel looked at Dean seriously, "It was not us. But it is imperative we find her."

"I told you we should have taken care of that issue weeks ago," Uriel snarled.

Castiel cast an upset look at Uriel, "If at all possible we will find and return her."

Without warning Castiel and Uriel disappeared.

"Dean…what do we do?" Sam asked.

Dean ran a hand through his short hair, "Oh god, Bobby is going to kick our asses."

Sam and Dean immediately wanted to begin searching, but they had no leads. The best they could do was start driving towards Bobby's. After all they had been through the past week Dean was at the end of his rope, and it didn't take long for him to pull over to the side of the road and get out of the car.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, following him.

"I quit. I give up. It's hopeless," Dean said without emotion.

Sam took a slow breath, "We're both exhausted. I mean hell, we barely made it out of there alive. Look, Dean, Anna cared about Lady. Maybe…I don't know, maybe she took her to protect her."

"Or maybe to drop her off a cliff, off on another planet. Or maybe Alastair grabbed her instead. We don't know," Dean countered.

"We head to Bobby's, there we keep searching. We will find her. And we are going to get her back. I promise you," Sam said.

Dean shook his head, not believing it. He didn't believe anything good could happen anymore. The world was going to hell, literally this time, and while he was trying to save it he kept getting crapped on. He was beginning to think maybe he should just step down, hand in his hero card, and let the world go to hell.

"Dean, are you with me?" Sam asked, as if he knew what his brother was thinking. As if he could sense just how close to giving up Dean was.

"You aren't curious how I knew Alastair?" Dean asked out of the blue.

"Uh…well, yeah, Dean, I'm damn curious. But you're not talking about Hell, and I'm not pushing," Sam said.

Dean couldn't believe what he was about to say, and looked away from his brother as he spoke, "It wasn't four months, you know."

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

"It was four months up here, but down there…I don't know, time's different. It was more like forty years," Dean said.

Sam tried to imagine in, and though he was no where close he uttered, "My god," in surprise.

Dean thought that would be enough to show Sam that he had suffered too much to continue. But with that small piece of information more just came out. "They, uh, they sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you…" Dean paused, there was no way people could imagine things in Hell. Things happened in Hell that couldn't physically happen outside of the pit, there was no imagining it for someone who had never been there. So instead he continued with more information than he originally wanted to give out. "Until there was nothing left. And then suddenly I would be whole again, like magic, just so they could start in all over. And Alastair, at the end of every day, every single day, would come over. And he would make me an offer to take me off the rack…if I put souls on. If I started the torturing. And every day I told him to stick it where the sun shines." Dean let out an unhappy chuckle as he remembered his righteous defiance, and another chuckle to try and ward off the threat of sobs building up in his chest as he began to really fall apart. "For 30 years, I told him. But then I couldn't do it anymore, Sammy. I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it, and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls. The things I did to them…" Dean couldn't talk any more as he began to lose the battle against his emotions. What he'd been holding in for so long and drowning in alcohol was coming loose and hot tears escaped his eyes.

Softly from behind Sam said, "Dean…Dean, look, you held out for 30 years. That's longer than anyone else would have."

"This…inside me…I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing," Dean hung his head. So ashamed and sickened by himself. He pushed off from the car and began walking away.

Sam stayed back, feeling so much sympathy for his brother but unsure how to help him. He knew Dean enough to give him space and time first. And Sam needed time himself to try and absorb what Dean had told him.

Sitting in the car Sam got a phone call from an unknown number. Without thinking it was strange he answered it, "This is Sam."

"Hey, you idjits get a chance to check in on my cats?" Bobby asked him.

"Uh…" Was all Sam could reply with right away.

"I'm still in the Dominican and these international rates are killing me. Talk already," Bobby barked.

"The cats are fine," Sam said, looking around for Dean. "Are you on your way back to the states?"

"As soon as I can. And I'm fine, by the way. Thanks for asking," Bobby gruffed.

"That's great, uh, Bobby, I have some important things to talk to you about," Sam said. "And you aren't going to like it."

**November 16, 2008**

Bobby and Maxine were relieved to be back in the States, but were not enjoying the cold November weather. Though the gray skies and threat of snow matched the gloomy mood they both had.

They met Sam and Dean at Bobby's house. There they let the brothers tell them everything that had happened since they'd been gone. From Lady and the wishing well, to her recent disappearance.

"Don't beat yourselves up over it," Bobby said, taking the slab of stone. "If we hadn't been taking the scenic rout we might have beat Lilith there." Bobby then told the brothers about their trip and the decimated village. With a huff of disappointment Bobby poured them all a round of drinks. After everything they'd been through they deserved one, or four. He sipped at it as he hit 'Play' on his answering machine and began checking his messages.

**November 13, 2008** (_Intentionally went back in time a few days, it will make sense why in a minute)_

Anna was on the run carrying an unconscious Lady while she herself was just a wavelength of energy. At the moment she became an angel again she didn't know why she should take Lady, just that it felt right to do. While human Anna and Lady had taken care of one another, and now that Anna was a powerful angel she couldn't quite shake that protective bond she had developed toward Lady. But Anna believed that fate shined on both of them when she was able to see things in Lady's broken mind that gave her an idea to help them both.

When they were relatively safe Anna made sure Lady was okay, and was surprised that Lady could look right at her without her eyes bursting to flames. And even listen to her voice without her ears bleeding. Lady was a rare human that could withstand the true sight of an angel. It was a fascinating find and it made Anna want to keep her safe even more. To preserve her and keep her safe from angels and demons alike.

An angel had many abilities depending on their level. Since Anna was a fallen angel she was low on the totem pole, but she was still a force to be reckoned with now that she had her grace back. And she still had some level of telepathy. Anna gently probed into Lady's mind, finding a crazy jumble of memories. It wasn't an easy process and just when Anna decided it was unnecessary she came across a memory in Lady's mind that just may save them both. Anna gathered information on a powerful entity that she recognized and gained the information to locate him right inside Lady's mind.

In a suburb of Austin, TX a series of deadly pranks were happening. That was how Anna was able to recognize where this entity was. Instantly she and Lady traveled there, but instead of cornering the entity once they were close that entity cornered them. A hundred times more powerful than she was she was trapped and knew that this entity could destroy her within seconds. "Brother, please, I beg of you," Anna called out to him.

"Shut up!" Gabriel appeared to her within his vessel. "You want the others to hear you? How did you find me?"

"Her," Anna replied simply.

Gabriel noticed Lady within the bright essence of the angel Anna, her eyes open but unharmed, and her brain not exploding from the sound. "So that's the thanks I get for not killing her all those times," he uttered. "I can fix that."

"Please, brother…Gabriel," Anna pleaded. "Help us."

He shook his head, "I got my own gig these days, and it isn't charity."

"No, it's calling yourself Loki. Or The Trickster. All this time we thought you abandoned Earth, but you've really been playing down here. Hidden among the lowly pagan's. Actually rather brilliant. But if you…"

Anna went silent, and Gabriel noticeably cringed. They both felt the presence of a nearby angel, no doubt looking for signs of Anna. "Since that first damn seal broke you idiots are everywhere," Gabriel grumbled. "It's fine, anywhere near me and they can't see you. Ah, but that's why you found me, isn't it? To hide under my umbrella. Forget it, leave."

"I fell, Gabriel. They'll kill me."

"You chose to fell, you knew what would happen," he answered in a bored tone.

"Yes, but I want to help. After being human I understand so much more, I know so much more, than an eternity of being an angel. I have to help them stop Lucifer. And nothing else can save me from being persecuted by my brothers and sisters. And with Lady I can. She saw the vision of Lucifer rising, and I think she may be able to help us stop it. Please, brother, help us with this."

Gabriel frowned deeply, "I don't even know why I'm falling for this," he uttered, but snapped his finger. The tiny bits and pieces of flesh, some as small as molecules, were drawn together and reanimated. Anna's human body came back together and back to life. And then Anna let out a howl of pain that vibrated the earth and would eventually cause earthquakes in California. Her angelic self was stuffed into her old human body to use it as a vessel. It felt different, and it drained what little power she had away making her pitifully weak.

"Having a vessel wasn't exactly what I was asking for," she said weakly.

"You want in on the fight, you need a vessel," Gabriel answered. He walked up to Lady and looked into her eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd probed her mind and caught her thoughts or memories. He indeed saw her vision of Lucifer rising and wondered if she could really stop it. The chance was next to none, he knew what fate had in store for Earth and he was more than happy to sit back and let it happen. But that slim chance called to him. Maybe it was all the time he spent with humanity that it sort of rubbed off on him, that desire to gamble against high odds for that massive payout.

"Can you fix her?" Anna asked.

Any other angel would have been at a loss on how to fix Lady. But Gabriel had the benefit of an understanding of the ley lines and Lady's visions. However like any other angel he was at the same disadvantage that he could not use ley lines. But he had not survived undetected on Earth for so long without being able to think outside the box. He took Lady's hands and looked into her eyes. "Yeah, I think I can."

"You think?" Anna asked.

"Either she'll be back to normal, or her head will explode. We'll find out which in a second. It'd be nice if you were quiet until then," he said.

It was some of the most complicated work he had done, it was so much simpler to just turn Lady into a dog, and much more amusing. After several dedicated minutes he released her and looked at Anna. "You have twenty-four hours, if you aren't out of here by then they'll find you," he warned her. "And if you tell _anyone_ about me…"

"Yes, of course. Thank you, brother," Anna said weakly, she didn't need to hear any threats.. "What about Lady, will she be…" Anna began to ask. So far Lady was unconscious and she couldn't tell. But instead of answering he vanished.

**November 14, 2008**

Lady was being blinded by this extremely bright light, but she couldn't look away. It was so bright and beautiful, she had to keep looking. She knew if she kept her eyes on it something amazing would show itself.

Slowly a shadow appeared within the light and grew closer and closer. Until finally she saw a pretty young woman with long chestnut hair, the bright light a glowing halo around her. But then the glowing halo around her dulled and was recognized to be a strip of fluorescent lights.

"Lady, can you hear me?" the woman asked.

Lady blinked a few times and managed to look away from the light.

"Lady, I need you to speak to me if you can. Right now," the woman said firmly.

"Yeah…yeah I can," Lady said.

"Good. Can you move?"

Lady slowly moved to sit up, her head swimming and her stomach clenching with hunger pains so bad that she felt sick.

"Can you move faster?" the woman asked with urgency. "I don't want to scare you, but we aren't exactly safe. Our time is almost up."

Lady leaned against a wall and took a few large breaths as her head and stomach settled. "Who…who…" Lady looked at her with wide eyes.

"No, Lady, stay with me," she said urgently, afraid that Lady was slipping away again.

Very slowly a smile spread across Lady's lips. "It's okay, I'm okay," she said, and unable to help herself began grinning as she recognized her future-sight had returned to her.

Finding a secure position to sit in and a glass of water Lady listened to Anna's brief explanation. "So, you are a fallen angel. Protecting me from being destroyed by your brothers because eventually Lilith is going to figure out I'm needed for a ritual she wants to do. And you were able to snap my head out of my vision?" Lady absorbed the information Anna quickly gave her.

"Pretty much," Anna answered. Maybe she didn't tell Lady that Gabriel was involved, but he'd kill them both if she started telling everyone his secret identity. "Now please, we need to get moving."

It was obvious that Anna was having difficulty moving around, she seemed weak and tired. "Where are we?" she asked Anna.

"A store backroom, I think. Somewhere in Texas," she said.

"I've just been everywhere lately," Lady mused. "Ok, we'll need a car, supplies…clothes," she looked at the boxes that were stacked on shelves. She grabbed one and opened it, it was stuffed with t-shirts. "Oh…clothes," she said, almost giddy. "But…these aren't new," she added in confusion. She looked around again and uttered, "Oh, we're at a secondhand store. Nice. Couldn't drop us off at the Gap or something?"

"Are you serious?" Anna asked her harshly.

Lady was 100% serious, but decided to just shut up for the time being. "Okay, just hang tight right here, I'm going to look around and see what I can find for us."

It was four in the morning and pitch black as she moved from the backroom to the store front. Her first stop was the bathroom, she felt like she was about to burst. And it gave her a private few moments to make sure she was okay. She was thrilled her future-sight was back, and even better she didn't seem to be all that dirty. At the sink she washed her hands and face. First she noticed her hands were different. Scarred and crooked fingers were unmarred and straight. Then her wrists, the decade of criss-crossing scars were completely gone.

Stunned Lady poured over her face and body and discovering that like Dean she had also had her scars magically erased. She quickly deduced that when Anna had fixed her mind, she had also fixed her body. It was too bad that Anna hadn't fixed her hair, because she still only had the light fuzz on her head.

Energized and thrilled she went into the store. Luckily since it was a secondhand store there was almost nothing for security, Lady didn't even spot a camera. She found an ugly tote bag, grabbed a few sets of clothes that would fit her and a pair of tennis shoes, the money from the cash register and a really cute necklace. She went out the back door to the parking lot. Across the street was pawn shop with several cars parked out front for sale. Most of them looked boring and junky, but there was one bright yellow '90's Mustang. Lady knew that she should steal one of the boring cars, they were less likely to be noticed. But she couldn't help herself.

Using a wire hanger from the secondhand shop she unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat. She ducked down and found the panel to the wires had previously been opened so she had easy access. A minute later the car roared to life and she was cruising back to pick up Anna.

Lady helped Anna to the car, "I need to call Dean, find somewhere we can meet him," she told the angel.

"No, you can't. It's not safe, the angels are watching him constantly," Anna warned. "Lady, there is no way to talk to him, or Sam, without risking you. We are in this, just the two of us."

Lady anxiously shifted on her feet before getting back behind the wheel. "I can't just leave them in the dark. Or be in the dark about them," she told Anna.

"For now we have to. Let me get my strength back, and make sure we are safe. Then we can see if it is safe. But right now it isn't," Anna explained.

Lady turned onto the highway and nudged the Mustang up to 80. The sun began to rise before her and she couldn't help but smile. Her head had been fixed, she had her future sight back, she got to be a part of breaking and entering, kleptomania, and grand theft auto. Throw in sex and it would have been the perfect day.

They drove throughout the morning and then the car ran out of gas. Lady managed to get it to a grocery store parking lot before it died on them. In the grocery store she expertly lifted a man's wallet and did a little skip when she saw he had a platinum credit card, she loved when things went her way. At the grocery store she picked up a few things for a cloaking charm to prevent them from being followed or traced. As she was walking out of the grocery store she passed a payphone, one of the good ones that accepted credit cards. She knew she really shouldn't, but for the first time in months she was free from her own mind, she was back to her old self, she just couldn't help herself.

Ten minutes later Lady left the store and went around to the back of the grocery store. There she found employee parking and no security cameras. She took a tan sedan, a common make and model and color, and picked Anna back up to continue their roadtrip.

"You have a look on your face like you are up to something?" Anna said tiredly as Lady drove.

"Don't worry about it, I normally look like this," Lady promised her. "Just rest, my feathery friend. All will be okay."

Lady switched on the radio as they got back on the highway. Aerosmith's 'Devil's Got a New Disguise' came on, making Lady grin to show her teeth.

**November 16, 2008 **

Bobby wondered what hope they had left. They were all wondering that. It didn't really matter if hope was lost or not, they still had to try. With a heavy heart and a full glass of liquor he scratched on a notepad the name of a hunter and their phone number so he could call them back. Over twenty-five messages and nearly half of the idiots who called had known he wasn't going to be available to help. Now he had to call them back to make sure they hadn't gotten themselves killed in his absence.

Bobby heaved a sigh of relieve as his he reached his last message and got ready to take down the information. The female voice started and it took a few words before he realized who it was. "Hey, Bobby," Lady said chirpily. "I know you were out of the country but I was _really_ hoping you'd be back by now. But that's okay, maybe leaving a message is better."

"It's a trick, right?" Sam asked, standing over Bobby listening as well.

"Sh!" Bobby hushed him angrily.

"So I know you are doubting this you paranoid old bastard, but it really is me," Lady's voice continued. "Long story short, I guess I made friends with an angel. I need you to do a few things for me, Bobby, and this is very important. First I need you to find anything and everything you can on the Stone of Seals, and more importantly the Eye of the Seer…my life is sort of depending on this. And the hardest part I need you to pass on to the guys…don't come looking for me. I'll get back in contact as soon as I can but right now I'm not safe anywhere near the Winchesters or you, or anywhere angels might trip over me." Lady let out a little giggle, "Happy hunting, old man."

The answering machine beeped to signal the message was over, and then an automated voice recited the time and date the message was from. It was just two days old, and Bobby saw the caller ID and saw she was in western Texas, however within two days she could be in any corner of the country.

Maxine's lips curled into a smile, "We just got our Lady back, boys."

**A/N** - _Thank you for reading (and replying if you do because I appreciate those so much). I will admit I'm a little ashamed because I only have 10 chapters when I've been working on the story for so long. I'm sorry! My writing is just slowing down I guess. I'm glad this chapter is posted now, I was really excited to show how Lady gets to return. Not as dramatic as I wanted it to be but this is what I was able to write down. I hope you are enjoying the story, and I'm going to let you know that I am taking another break from posting weekly chapters. This is to give me a chance to write and edit future chapters. I will be back when I can. Thank you all, you rock!_


	11. Reawakening, November 2008

**November 17, 2008**

After Dean had heard Lady's voice message for Bobby he had gone through a hundred thoughts in just moments. His first was that it was nothing more than another sad haunting nightmare, that his own mind was taunting him with his failures once again. But then his mind quickly shifted into gear and got more creative. Maybe he wasn't dreaming, but that it was some sort of trap. A demon or shifter of some sort mimicking her to taunt him. To lure him away. Or whoever had Lady was doing it. The last thought that he got was that it really was her. After listening to it a few more times and tracing the number to a payphone in El Paso he knew he had to leave Bobby's and check it out. At first Sam didn't want to go, but when Dean threatened to leave alone he packed up and joined him.

The brothers arrived in El Paso, Texas early in the morning after an all-night drive from South Dakota. Sam was exhausted, but Dean didn't seem to be. Sam wondered at the possibility that Dean had driven himself into some sort of madness that didn't require sleep like a normal person. He worried that Dean was in a rapid downward spiral that started with the heartbreak of losing Lady and kept going downward out of control until they heard the voice message, combined with everything else that had happened the few weeks and it was hard to blame his older brother for losing it.

Sam understood, though. Dean didn't believe, or want to risk even the sparest hint of belief, that they could have one good thing happen to them like Lady returning. His brother had hit a real low. So while the trip to Texas was leaving them both drained, financially and physically, he wasn't making any complaints or arguments.

Sam got out of the car and stretched the moment the Impala stopped. The long drive had been nearly non-stop, and as soon as he regained feeling in his legs and could walk he would be going into the nearby store and using the bathroom before his bladder gave up.

"This the place?" Sam asked, looking at the unremarkable grocery store they parked at.

"Yeah," Dean answered, leaning against the car as his eyes grazed over the perimeter suspiciously. There were only a handful of cars, poor cover and he didn't like that. He glared at an elderly woman slowly walking up to the doors, was she a demon? He grabbed his pistol and checked to make sure it was loaded.

"Dean! Really?" Sam looked at him with wide eyes. Sure, they pretty much carried a gun around everywhere they went anymore, but taking it out in the middle of a parking lot was just plain stupid.

Dean glared at Sam next. His bloodshot eyes mirrored his own. They had both experienced a rough few weeks, the past few days being the worst. With difficulty Dean put it to the back of his mind and focused at the task on hand. "I say we walk the…"

"Dean, I'm going inside," Sam said. The reason being because if he didn't he would have to unzip his pants right there to relieve himself and that was not going to happen. But to appease his brother he reasoned, "Let's split up, cover the area faster and less likely to tip someone off."

Dean frowned, but agreed with a simple nod. Sam doubted they'd find anything but some bruised fruit at this grocery store, and that wasn't a good thing. He wished they'd find something, anything to give Dean peace of mind, or whatever it was that his brother needed.

Dean walked around the parking lot, not sure what he was looking for. He was cautious and aware, even after next to no sleep for several days. Just when he thought there was nothing to be found outside his eyes fell on an out-of-place yellow Mustang. It was parked in the far lot marked for employees only, the windshield had a thick coating of dust on it telling him it had been sitting there for at least a few days without being driven. The license plate was Louisiana, but the front was missing a screw so it hung askew as if someone had switched the plates in a hurry, as if the car may have been stolen and the thief had wanted to prevent the car being made.

Something in his gut told him to take a closer look. He casually peered in through the windows. The car seemed mostly clean except for some discarded pieces of clothing in the backseat, they were crumpled up and impossible to tell if it was women's or men's clothing. But one thing he recognized immediately was a small satchel on the dashboard, a gris-gris bag. It was impossible to know what it was made for without opening it, but he had a good hunch it was to hide from angels and demons. He wasn't about to jump to the conclusion that it was Lady's car. He was about to return to the Impala to retrieve a slim-jim in order to break into the car when he noticed the radio antenna had a slight hook bent into it's tip as if inviting him to use it. With nimble fingers he removed the antenna and used it to pull up the lock. With a smooth movement he slid into the driver's seat. His gut told him that Lady wouldn't be stupid enough to steal a car that would be spotted so easily, but Lady had a taste for flashy and dramatic things.

He grabbed the gris-gris bag off the dash. He had one similar in his own car, but this one was made with faded pink fabric and tied with what appeared to be a black shoelace. What was strange was that it was tied with a bow instead of a secure double-knot, as if it was some sort of present. Wanting to know what was inside he tugged one of the strings to open it. If Lady had been there she would have yelled at him for doing that, there was a small chance that doing so could activate a spell and blow him up. However she wasn't there to stop him, and he was at the point where he didn't care too much if he did blow up.

But the gris-gris wasn't packing any black magic. With the bow untied the fabric unfolded neatly to show contents. The herbs were coarsely ground but he could smell just a hint of mint along with something more dusty, some feathers, and short dark hairs. He didn't know what it was for, but it wasn't a protection spell. He folded the fabric back up to preserve the items until Sam could take a look as well.

With a sigh he examined the rest of the car, other than a few pieces of women's clothing nothing else littered the car. He opened the glove compartment and pawed through some old insurance and registration cards without finding anything. Then folded down the visors. A single piece of paper, a receipt from the grocery store, fluttered down and landed in his lap. On the back of it written in a heavy hand, '_**Lady was here**_'.

He felt an icy chill settle into his insides. Probably a combination from sleep depravation, dehydration from constant drinking, and he couldn't remember the last time he had managed to eat much, but seeing that hit him hard in the stomach and sent that icy feeling throughout his body. That numbness he had given into the past few days faded away and his hands trembled slightly.

"Dean," A voice said.

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin. Though the voice was clearly male for a second he half expected to see Lady herself. Instead the angel Castiel was standing outside the car looking at him. Dean stepped out of the car and stood to face him. "What the hell are you doing here?" Dean asked roughly. The last he had seen the angel they were speaking of destroying the Eye of the Seer, which they claimed to be Lady.

Castiel looked at the car and around, "I came for her. Where is she?"

"Who?" Dean asked.

Castiel's eyes narrowed on Dean's fist, the fabric and contents of the gris-gris bag within it. Castiel looked at Dean desperately, "She was here, she left that. As a decoy. Very clever, but you must help me find her."

Dean immediately went on the defensive, "I must help you?" Dean had to work hard to unclench his fist, "You said she couldn't be helped. Is she really back?"

Castiel looked apprehensive before answering, "I do not know," he admitted, and Dean believed that. "I've been tasked with finding her, and if I do not…let's just say there are worse things that could happen to her."

"I know that, believe me I know. But I also know what happens if you get your hands on her. So no, even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," Dean said firmly.

Castiel gazed upon Dean for several moments before deciding Dean was being truthful. Without another word he left in a blink of an eye and the slightest sound of fluttering wings.

"Dean! Was that Castiel?" Sam called, running across the parking lot to reach Dean.

"Yeah," Dean let out a breath before handing Sam the gris-gris bag. "Someone left this for us."

Sam opened it and took a look. "I think this is flax seed…that'd be part of a tracking spell, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it would," Dean said. "Whatever it is, I think this car is what we're looking for. Bring the Impala over here."

"Yeah…okay," Sam said, taking the keys to the Impala that Dean offered him.

Dean settled back into the car, taking a moment to adjust the seat for his long legs. He had found the car, some of her clothes, a piece of paper with her handwriting on it. But still...he wasn't sure what was wrong but it didn't feel right or complete to him.

Dean was waiting for Sam to bring the Impala, once he did they could use his bigger car as a curtain while Dean tore apart the Mustang piece by piece looking for the next clue. But while he was waiting he nearly jumped out of his skin when a shrill noise assaulted his ears. It took him an extra second to realize it was a cell phone ring, an annoying cell phone ring, but not one of his own. He reached below the driver's seat and found a small pre-paid phone. The number calling it was restricted. He pressed the answer button and held it to his ear without saying anything.

"Not fair to give me the silent treatment," a familiar and amused feminine voice said. "You better be who I want you to be."

"That depends," Dean said roughly. "Lady?"

"The one and only, babe," she chuckled briefly but quickly went serious. "Well, I mean millions of women who technically fit that description, but I'm still the one and only me. I thought I should get myself trademarked but let's face it, I'm just impossible to copy so why bother?"

Dean let out a rough laugh of his own but quickly bit it back, "How do I know…"

"That it's me? Well, I don't know. I wish I could give you the proof you want but it's just not safe," she answered solemnly. "You opened the gris-gris bag?"

"Yeah, that was yours?" Dean asked.

"Any angels take the bait?" she asked with an edge.

"Yeah, what do you mean bait?"

"It was a spell, once it was opened it should have tricked an angel into thinking wherever that gris-gris bag was that it was me, I just wasn't sure if they'd make themselves known to you or not," Lady answered. "When you opened it a chain reaction started, I got a little notification and a few dozen other places are going to light up on the angel's radar. Hopefully that will give me a few minutes, but they move so fast. Dean, calling you is probably the most dangerous thing I can do right now, but I had to. I'm pretty confident they can't track me like this, hiding from them isn't that hard. But you could find me. In fact you have everything you need in that stolen car to find me if you really want to."

"But if I do that just leads them to you," Dean said.

"Yeah, basically. But I know you, Dean. I know that you wouldn't just be able to sit back and wait until the smoke clears. That even now you are probably searching for whatever other clues I left in that car so you can find me."

Dean paused in his search under the floor mats. "Just tell me where you are."

"No. I'll just tell you that I'm safe. Once I figure out a way to get myself off Heaven and Hell's hitlist, or at least Heaven's hitlist, you just have to keep your distance," she said in a low sad voice. "Dean-o, it really is me and I hope you believe that."

Dean swallowed hard, "Yeah, I do, babe," he said emotionally. "But I can't let you be alone out there." It was against every fiber in his being. She was in danger, on the run with her life at risk, and he was supposed to protect her.

"I'm not alone," she promised. "And hey, I even got my visions back. I'm golden. It's you I'm worried about. You and Sam. I'm just going to be hiding, I'll be bored. All I have to worry about is not setting something on fire just for fun. You two are probably going to do something stupid and fun in the next few days and I'm totally jealous." They shared a brief laugh, and Lady continued. "You two be careful."

Dean closed his eyes, "Just a few more minutes."

"Sorry, babe, no more time to spare," she answered apologetically. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, and he flinched at the sound of the line disconnecting.

Dean got out of the Mustang. Sam had pulled the Impala up to the car and looked at Dean with confusion. "What's the plan?" Sam asked as Dean leaned against the car.

Dean looked painfully at his brother wondering just what to say. Lady had hinted that she had left clues for him in the car to say where she was, that if he really wanted to he could find her. Finding Lady was high on his priorities the past few days, and knowing that he could find her but if he did he ran a very high risk of uncovering her hiding spot and causing her destruction by angels sort of ruined any part of good news this brought on. He could have his girlfriend back. The comfort she could bring him in this difficult time was worth more than he could express in words. But he could only have her at some sort of safe distance, or lose her completely.

As Dean was about to tell Sam what had just happened he stopped, something suddenly clicking in his head. Lady was wickedly smart with a flare for the dramatic, something he rather liked about her. She was interesting, never boring. She planted the car in a place she knew he'd visit, running the small risk that he wouldn't reach it before it got towed and impounded. In the car she left the gris-gris bag, proof that she had her wits about her enough to create such a spell, and tied it in a way inviting him to open it. Opening that bag gave him proof that angels were still very much on the hunt for her, that her concerns were not unfounded. He wouldn't be surprised if that gris-gris bag also didn't give her some sort of magical signal so she knew when it had been opened, that way she could call the planted pre-paid cell phone at the right time so he'd answer. She did all that because she knew, even after she had asked them not to look for her, that he would. That he couldn't sit back without getting some sort of affirmation that it was her, that it wasn't a trap, or anything else. She had proved her point in that. She had also proved, and was no doubt bathing in smugness over, how well she knew his motivations.

Lady knew him pretty well, he'd give her that. But he also knew her pretty damn well, and suddenly he understood what her clue was. The simple phrase 'Lady was here' was written, and it wasn't just because she wanted to tag something. That was her clue, and it brought back a very fond memory for Dean. Up high overlooking city lights, her warm body in front of his as cold desert wind blew her soft sweet smelling hair about his face. On a tall water tower a hundred feet above ground, on the side her name with several dates were graffiti, a silly tradition she had kept up since she was sixteen years old and was a rare piece of her past that she had only shared with him.

He knew right then where she was. Las Vegas. The city had more than once been her refuge. She knew its ins and outs, from the touristy strip to the ugly underbelly. He doubted she'd stay at any of the places they stayed at together, but he could probably find her knowing her tastes. There she was in an area with varied culture that she could find anything she could want her need.

"Dean? What's wrong?" Sam asked with concern.

Dean shook his head, for the first time in a long time there was nothing immediately wrong. Things were far from being okay, but in a way he could live with for the moment. Lady had managed to give him enough information in a way that proved to him that it was her, and in a way that no one else but he would know what she was saying. Sure, maybe an angel could read his mind but still Dean didn't know exactly where Lady was, just a general area. Now he had to trust she wouldn't get herself killed. But if there was one thing Lady was a pro at it was surviving.

"Nothing's wrong, Sammy," Dean said quietly. "Listen, sorry I've been…a bit crazy. Uh, I'm fine. I'm going to be just fine."

Sam looked at Dean with wide eyes, unsure what could have happened to Dean in the brief half hour they had been in El Paso. The look on his face told him he wasn't going to find out, either.

XXXXX

Lady had slept just as little as Dean had recently. Driving almost nonstop, even after the excitement and adrenaline rush of being back had faded. She had hit half the states south of the Dakotas in that time, planting dozens of gris-gris bags that would tell the angels 'Lady is here' and keep them occupied just long enough to give her a chance to reach out to Dean.

If that idiot ever doubted her abilities or devotion after she spent days setting up a measly three minute phone call to him she'd kick his ass.

But she knew talking to him meant just as much to him as it did to her. Maybe her and Dean weren't the gushing puppy-love type, but there was no doubt they loved each other. It was hard to cut their conversation so short when she was dying to tell him every little thing that she had found out in just a few days, and wanted to know everything he had been doing as well. She could have talked to him for hours. But instead of calling the number back she dropped the pre-paid phone in the toilet and flushed it down.

Lady was mostly sure that Dean would stop searching for her, and would keep Sam and Bobby from looking as well. Even if he didn't she doubted any of them would actually be able to find her. Working with Anna she had devised a fairly thorough gris-gris bag that would keep angels and demons from easily finding her, and she was hoping that being stationary in Las Vegas would give her time develop something more angel-proof and time to rest.

"Who were you talking to?" Anna asked when Lady stepped out of the bathroom.

"Myself," Lady comfortably lied. "I talk to myself when I poop, sing when I shower. Just wait until you find out what I do when I tweeze my eyebrows."

Anna was hard to read. Her face was smooth and even, not hinting if she believed Lady's lies or not. To prevent the question from hanging in the air too long and giving Anna more time to figure out the truth Lady asked, "How are you holding up?" Changing the subject was an effective method for humans and non-humans.

"Still existing," Anna replied. Anna wasn't sure of Lady's truthfulness, but to keep her own secrets private she put up with the psychic's shadiness. Anna had lied to Lady, saying reawakening the psychic had drained her of her powers. In reality when Gabriel had given Anna her human body back it had greatly weakened her, it was difficult to contain ones entire grace in the weak form of a human. However if Anna wanted to be a part of the war against the apocalypse she was going to need a vessel. Her strength would return, though she'd be limited in her abilities due to being cut off from heaven.

Lady had no problem accepting that it was Anna who had fixed her, after all Anna was the only angel she knew. Gabriel had manipulated Lady's mind enough that she wouldn't remember him, what he really was or what he pretended to be. For Lady to regain full consciousness he had needed to suppress her vision of Lucifer, her frail human mind could not comprehend his form and would send her into drooling submission if she saw it again. Other than blinding white light she had no memory of the vision, or how to stop Lucifer from rising. Anna was disappointed that Lady didn't have that answer, but still felt that the psychic was terribly important to keeping Lucifer's cage locked.

Now that Lady had managed to confuse the angels and call Dean the lack of sleep hit her hard and she fell onto one of the full sized beds.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked.

Lady lifted her head to glare at the angel. "You toured as a human, you should recognize sleeping."

"How long are we staying here?" Anna asked.

"Uh, I don't know. Two days? Two months? However long it takes for us to recuperate and come up with a plan of action to save my life and hopefully not end the world."

"You don't understand how dangerous it is for you. They are looking for you. And being someplace like Vegas, so many people that might see us, it seems dangerous to stay here any longer than necessary."

Lady sighed and propped herself up on an elbow to look at the angel, "Nuh uh. Vegas is the safest place to be. Podunk towns are great and all, but if you ever want to disappear you do it in a metropolis. Hide amongst the masses, blend in. Think about it, we go somewhere secluded like Newburg, North Dakota we are two in two hundred. Las Vegas we are two in two million. Which is harder for an angel to find?"

Anna appeared to be thinking about it for a moment before answering, "I understand your reasoning, but we don't search like you would. We can hone in on your soul, your essence. If we are attuned to that person we can find them almost anywhere in the world and be there instantly."

"Not entirely different from how I would search, though I believe my way would shed much more blood," Lady said in a joke, but Anna was pretty humorless.

"With the protection you were able to forge they cannot sense our whereabouts easily. As long as they do not discover a way around that protection we could be standing right in front of them and they may not recognize us. Angels have spent nearly all of our existence as wavelengths of celestial energy, using human eyes and ears is alien to them." Anna was quiet for a moment before adding, "Though I would rather not risk that. Let's just continue with our original plan of avoiding them at all costs."

"Great. Glad you are on board," Lady said, letting herself fall back into the mattress. She gagged briefly on the musty smell that wafted up and stung her nose, but it wasn't bad enough to make her get up and find somewhere else to lay down. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

**November 21, 2008**

It took Anna a long time to regain strength. Lady was not the sort to sit around idly, thanks to her ADHD, so when Anna was finally up for some work Lady had already gathered materials, weapons, a new vehicle, and was ready to take on demons and angels alike.

"Do you have a plan?" Anna asked, hoping Lady's preparation was for a reason.

Lady laughed at the mere concept of a plan. "Oh I wouldn't say that, my feathery friend. What we're looking at is Lilith, a very powerful demon leading a somewhat organized demonic army breaking apocalyptic seals…"

"Thirty-three have been broken so far, they are halfway there," Anna commented.

Hearing that news made Lady's stomach clench. How terrifying was it to hear an angel say that hell was winning and the apocalypse was halfway near occurring. But Lady put on a smile, "Let's be optimistic and say we are halfway to winning."

"That's not accurate at all," Anna said solemnly.

Lady frowned, "Okay then. Well, what do you suggest, Miss Sunshine?"

"We have to kill Lilith," Anna said.

"Excellent idea. Say if we get through all that near-impossible work of finding her, weaseling through the posse of demons she keeps around her without detection, manage to get right up next to her all the while keeping the element of surprise…what then? Can you kill a demon?"

Anna shook her head, "No, unfortunately not. I've got my strength back but I am very limited on power."

Lady ground her teeth for a moment before saying, "Sam and Dean have a demon killing knife."

"Yes, I saw it, but it failed against Alastair," Anna told her. Lady had been there, but couldn't remember a thing.

"Alastair?" Lady cocked an eyebrow.

"He is in charge of torturing souls in Hell. He spent a lot of time with Dean down there, eventually making Dean break and taking him in as an apprentice of sorts. He allowed Dean to torture other souls in order to spare his own," Anna told her.

Lady stood silent and still for a few moments before letting out a dumb, "Huh?"

Anna looked at her with wide brown eyes, "The time Dean spent in hell he tortured other souls like himself, in order to be spared his own torture." Anna made an effort to look compassionate but failed, "Dean's time in hell passed much slowly than time for you did up here. After what seemed like thirty years of unending torture he made the choice, accepted an offer extended by Alastair, to be spared torture and to torture others himself."

Lady looked away, stunned and sickened. "And he remembers it?"

"Yes. When he was rescued from hell the angels didn't remove any memories," Anna said.

Lady was quiet for a few moments, unsure what to think until saying, "He's back now, that's all that matters. And he's fine."

"Yes," Anna agreed. "So, do we have a plan?"

"I need to try and recreate that knife," Lady decided.

The demon-killing knife they got from Ruby was one of a kind. Lady had more than once pondered what made the knife actually kill demons, but had never set out to create one herself. The type of cosmic events to give enough magical energy were once in a lifetime, if one lived a long life, and she wasn't sure if that would even be enough. It was far from the best idea, and she was doubtful if it was even worth her time to try, but it was the best she could think of at the moment. With a sigh she sat down and looked exhausted, "I can probably charm a knife by the full moon, but I'd need a demon to test it on."

"These days, finding a demon will be the easy part," Anna said grimly.

**A/N** - _Thanks for being patient guys. I hope you are all enjoying your summer, and aren't too mad at me for taking a 2 month break. I'll have another chapter ready next week and hopefully one more the week after. _


	12. Full Moon, December 2008

**December 12, 2008**

Lady moved from Las Vegas to a cabin in the freezing Rocky Mountains. The move was surprisingly quick and efficient, taking less than a minute thanks to Anna's ability at rapid travel. Lady had no other word for it other than teleportation because one second she was in a dirty motel room, the next second she was surrounded by dense forests and a foot of fluffy snow.

After making sure Lady had the bare necessities Anna left. From what Lady understood the angel was doing reconnaissance. Every few days Anna would appear, checking in to see Lady's progress, and leave again just as quickly.

Lady was, in her mind, making progress. She had a small dagger, the blade pure silver and the handle the bone of a mummified holy man that Anna had provided. Silver wasn't as strong as steel and would dull quickly, it was a metal better suited for flashy pieces of jewelry, but what silver lacked in strength it made up for in it's mystic power. There were a great many evil things that shied away from silver, and a silver bullet to the heart was a sure way to kill any shapeshifter. Lady wasn't sure what inherent magic was in silver to give it that property, but it probably contributed to the fact that silver was an excellent conductor of magic. For this reason a great deal of ceremonial items were crafted from silver or at least had a portion of silver in them. Whether you were performing pansy white magic all the way to the blackest demonic magic, silver was your friend.

Since coming up with a ritual to purify and charm the dagger Lady worked tirelessly trying to make it happen. She painstakingly worked to keep the silver from tarnishing while bathing it in holy water, to remove any residual mojo from past things the dagger may have cut into. She spent three days hiking through frigid snow and ice locating ley lines to draw power from, found an intersection of power and built by hand an altar in which to use. She carefully prepared the ritual site, ensuring that every little detail was perfect. In order to charm something to have enough power to kill immortal demons it was going to take a lot of juice. Normally this sort of ritual would have called for a sacrifice, a virgin child would have sealed the spell nicely, but Lady was making due with blood from a fawn.

Just piecing together bits from various rituals and making up what she wasn't sure on she didn't have the highest confidence going into the ritual, but she was completely focused. The ritual site was cleared of deep snow in a twenty meter diameter around her, though the ground was still hard and frozen. Around the circle were several poles on which candles had been lit to provide light and secure the circle. She wore the warmest clothes she could but set aside her winter jacket so she could have a greater range of motion. And to keep her fuzzy scalp warm she wore a thick wool hat that made her head itch. It bothered her that Anna had been able to heal her mind, reset crooked bones and erase decades worth of wear and tear to her body, but hadn't been able to grow her hair back to a reasonable length.

The full moon rose high overhead, a perfect sphere that seemed to hang just out of her reach. After weeks of preparation and what seemed the imminent threat of frostbite in the miserable mountain climate she was about to give herself her greatest weapon against demons, she hoped. Never in the past had she attempted a spell like this. She had done detailed protection spells, tracking spells, and even once poorly executed a spell to find Dean's soul. But she'd never worked so hard to create a charmed object. As the witching hour of midnight neared her heart thrummed with excitement and the freezing wind didn't seem to bother her as much.

As the ritual came underway Lady kept all of her focus on the task. As the mystical power from the ley lines began stirring the air warmed, the frozen ground became softer. It was just a small side affect of the ritual, nothing that was a problem for Lady. The candles lit around the circle changed from a warm orange flicker to a soft blue flame.

An hour into the complex ritual Lady grabbed a half-gallon container of thick red liquid. Blood from the fawn had frozen in the cold, and the heat from the ritual hadn't yet thawed it completely. Unable to stop the ritual or risk having to wait another month for the next full moon Lady continued, pouring what little thawed blood there was onto the altar around the dagger.

What happened next happened so rapidly that Lady barely had time to register it. As she completed the last line of the ritual and took the silver dagger in her hand she felt the heavy weight of ley line power shift below her. Her future-sight warned her of a sharp crack and bright light, just the brief vision of it knocked her backward. The next instant the altar burst into hot blue flames as an overabundance of magical energy poured from the ley lines.

Lady immediately started kicking dirt and snow onto the inferno. She was hours from civilization but if any mountain men were hanging around they'd no doubt come to investigate a fire. The flames faded away quickly and soon she was only stomping out glowing embers. The altar was destroyed, as were several materials, her flashlight, winter jacket, and a sandwich. At least she had managed to save the silver dagger. But everything else had been destroyed in the brief fire, and now she had an hour long hike back to her sheltered cabin in the cold dark.

Before Lady could prepare for her hike she heard the unmistakable flutter of giant wings. Lady suffered from ornithophobia, the fear of birds, ever since taking a vacation within the spirit realm of the ley lines, so she immediately tuned into the sound of wings. Though she had never seen Anna's wings she had recognized the faint sound that signaled the angel's entrance and exit. However it wasn't Anna that had arrived. A man Lady didn't recognize was there instead. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach Lady realized that the fire had also destroyed the protective gris-gris bag that had been keeping her whereabouts hidden from angels.

"You nearly killed yourself with that spell," he said, taking a step closer.

The man neared the flickering candles and stepped into her circle. His frame was petite and short, his blonde hair wispy and thinning.

"Yeah, a second slower and I'd be ash," Lady said, watching the angel closely.

"Do you think that will work," he asked, looking at the silver knife still in her hand.

Lady didn't know what effect it would have on an angel, but she slowly adjusted her grip on the knife in preparation to find out. "Judging by the amount of power it got charged with, I'd put money on it."

There was a slight twitch of his lips in what appeared to be a brief smirk, "But it will be your life you gamble with."

"For me gambling with my life is a given," Lady said tensely. "Do all angels chat before smiting?"

"I'm not going to smite you, Lady," he said gently, his voice smooth and gentle and deep in her core his words rang true. Whether or not she believed him she kept her grip tight on the knife and was ready to move. "Several of us have been searching for you, you are very important. You are the only seer known to have actually seen Lucifer rise."

"Right, well if you want me help to stop it you really need to stop broadcasting that 'Kill Lady On Sight' order that keeps going around," she said while holding back her chattering teeth. The heat from the ritual was fading fast and the freezing temperature was sinking in.

The angel walked over to the charred altar and kicked the remains away. While his back was to her Lady contemplating running, but she had no where to run to. She was in the middle of no where. The cabin she was holed up in was barely sturdy enough to keep the snow out, let alone an angel.

She watched the angel clear away the altar spot, then saw him take out a type of short sword. It was gleaming, even in the darkness the metal seemed to attract all the candlelight so it could reflect it and show off how perfect it was. Even fifteen feet away Lady knew that no human had ever created a blade like that. The angel put the sharp tip in the dirt and drew lines in the cold ground.

Lady didn't dare get too close to the angel, but she was very curious as to what he was drawing. Before she could even decide if it was a good idea to ask him or not a new pair of fluttering wings sounded, and Anna appeared right beside Lady.

"Hello, Seth," Anna said.

The blonde angel looked up at her, dark brown eyes reflecting the dim light of the candles. "Hello, Anna," he replied courteously.

Anna looked up at the sky then back at Seth, "You are cloaking this area from the others. Why are you hiding from your brothers?"

"I'm not hiding, simply masking my activities from them. Not all of them agree with our new tactics yet," Seth answered. "I'm glad you are here though, Anna. And you've taken such good care of the seer, I'm beyond pleased that she has been in good hands."

Lady kept her eyes on Seth, but made sure Anna stayed in her peripheral. She took Anna's silent cue and took a step back while Anna took a step forward. Lady was more than happy to have her own angel as a shield.

"Lady and I crossed paths after a series of incredible events. There is no doubt in my mind that my purpose is to keep her safe," Anna said. With the slightest glance she gave Lady a brief disappointed look, "Though she is making it very difficult."

"And I've been surprisingly well-behaved. Just wait until I start to warm up to you, then you'll really see how difficult I can be," Lady countered.

Anna and Seth both ignored her.

"Anna, you've been absent from heaven a long time," Seth said calmly.

"A handful of years are nothing to us," Anna quickly said.

"When you left to become human it was because you started to feel the discord. It got much worse much more quickly," Seth looked at her with compassionate eyes and took a step closer to her. "The demons are winning. And now that Lilith has the Stone of Seals it's only a matter of time until she unlocks all the secrets of Lucifer's cage. We had a fighting chance before, now we have nothing. Our brother Lucifer will rise, and a lot of us just want it over with now."

Anna shifted her body slightly, keeping herself between Seth and Lady. "You don't want to destroy Lady. You want to summon demons to capture her, give her to Lilith."

Lady couldn't see what Seth had drawn in the dirt, but a summoning sigil suddenly made sense. The ash of the altar and the candles that were still lit in a circle could open an easy pathway for a powerful demon to appear.

"Anna, join us," Seth said pleadingly. "Fight with us, and we'll protect you. Then when Luficer finally rises and purges the world of these impure vile creatures it will be once again like it was."

"No," Anna answered without hesitation.

"I'm sorry," Seth replied.

Lady threw herself backward into a pile of fluffy snow as Anna and Seth charged at each other. While the two angel fought Lady scurried to the ritual spot to wipe away the summoning sigil Seth had drawn on the ground so that it couldn't be activated.

Seth wasted no time in aiming for a fatal blow with the blade, but even though Anna may not have been as powerful she was still very fast. She dodged several rapid attacks before Seth managed to knock her on her back. He raised the sword, ready to finish the brief melee, but Anna kicked the sword from his grasp. It landed on the ground near enough for her to reach. Before Seth could react she thrust the sword upward into his chest and pushed him away.

Lady watched with wide-eyes and amazement as Anna stood up victorious, and Seth was dead on the ground. She felt it, in the air, something nearly electrical vibrating. The snow on the trees fell as they trembled. It was far from an earthquake, it was as if the air itself was vibrating. And then a bright white light, Seth's grace, erupted from his mouth and eyes. When the light was gone the body remained, with a set of giant burned wings in the ground.

"Is he dead?" Lady asked.

"Yes," Anna answered. "Do you have more of those bags?"

"Yeah, at the cabin," Lady answered. No sooner had she gotten the words out Anna had teleported them back to the cabin.

"We're leaving, now," Anna said forcefully. "Whatever you need so you can protect yourself, grab it."

Lady did as she was asked while many questions burned in her head. The second she had her bags Anna whisked her off to a new place.

"Great, where am I now? Timbuktu?" Lady asked as she let her things fall. They were in a sweet smelling grove of trees, they weren't blossoming so she was unsure what type of fruit they produced.

"Georgia," Anna answered as she walked a short perimeter, making sure they were hidden and not followed. "I'll find you a suitable shelter once I know we are safe."

"Great, in the meantime tell me what the hell just happened," Lady said.

Anna looked at her with wide eyes, "I just killed my brother in order to keep you safe."

"I want to know why he wanted to hand me over to demons," Lady said.

Anna looked grimfaced for a moment but then nodded, "It will only get worse now. I feared it would happen, and it seems I was right." Anna's large brown eyes looked to Lady, emotionless and empty. "When your kind were created my father loved you all so much. And he told us to love you, too."

"I know this part. Lucifer threw a hissy-fit and got kicked out of the club over it," Lady said.

"You are right. But he wasn't the only one who hates humanity. Plenty of other angels do, too. Some only tolerate your kind because they still have faith in our Father. But he's been absent a long time, that faith is getting harder to hold onto anymore. So now other angels are willing to pledge allegiance to Lucifer," Anna explained. "I've been hearing whispers, but meeting Seth confirms it. The closer Lilith gets to succeeding the more angels Lucifer will have on his side."

Lady pulled off the wool hat and gave her scalp a much desired scratch. "This is fucking nuts!" She finally shrieked. "You can't even keep the angels on the right side of the fence! What fucking hope do we have?"

"We have you," Anna said.

Lady looked at her with wide eyes, "Yeah, I nearly barbecued myself less than an hour ago. Let me tell you something, past ten years of my life was all a big near-death experience, in fact a few times I even had that total-death experience."

"I don't expect you to stop this single-handedly. You'll need help, and I'm here to help you," Anna promised.

"Now what about that knife you have?" Lady nodded at the short sword that Anna held. "I didn't think anything could kill an angel."

"This is the only thing I know of that can," Anna answered. "They were forged after our first war with Lucifer."

"Any chance we can pick up a six-pack of them at Walgreens?" Lady asked.

"I'm afraid the only way to get one would be to take it from another dead angel," Anna said sadly. "We are running out of time. There is no other option but to get on the offensive, and soon. Every day we do nothing we lose more allies, most seals. We cannot let Lilith win."

"Well, maybe my pig-sticker can't kill an angel. But I have high hopes that it'll kill that white-eyed bitch," Lady said, tucking the silver dagger into her waistband.


	13. Death Takes a Holiday, December 2008

**A/N -**_This chapter takes place during the season 4 episode 'Death Takes a Holiday'_

**December 17, 2008**

The apocalyptic seals were fickle things that Lady was quickly beginning to despise. Some seals were common knowledge for angels and demons, or the information was easy enough to find for anyone searching. Those that Anna knew about she explained to Lady. But so many other seals were secrets that only a few knew of. While Anna was out doing reconnaissance, searching for Lilith and seals while evading angels, Lady was holding down their top-secret base camp, a rather nice country cottage half an hour away from Atlanta, Georgia. And from there Lady did research. She watched for signs, demonic and angelic. She searched online, newspapers, libraries.

It would have been impossible to ask Lady to research twenty hours a day straight. She was slow as it was, but her frustration over her problems reading wore out her patience quickly. When not researching she was teaching herself Enochian symbols, Anna was in the process of teaching her sigils to help ward off angelic intrusion and to banish angels. She also was working out. Before she had become a drooling mess in a straight-jacket Lady had been very physically fit, the life of a hunter was not for those with a pot-belly. To make up for months of mindlessly wandering around a psych ward and to burn off her excess energy she worked out at least an hour a day.

Anna didn't seem to care much if she left Lady alone and in the dark for a few days at the time. When she saw fit she went to the cottage to check in with Lady and share information, but otherwise they worked independently from each other. So when Lady finally came across evidence of a seal she had no way to contact Anna.

Lady paged through her notes until she came upon a phrase she had written down, "And he bloodied death under the newborn sky—sweet to taste, but bitter when once devoured." That had been exactly how Anna had recited it, and how it had been delivered by a prophet some time before Jesus got crucified. Its meaning wasn't clear to Lady, however Anna had explained that it referred to sacrificing two reapers under the solstice moon. Lady had made sure to pay attention to that considering how close it was to the winter solstice.

The news report she had just come across detailed how the town of Greybull, Wyoming was experiencing a series of miracles. People who should be dead weren't dying. A man who had been shot in his heart continued to breathe, another who was on his deathbed from terminal cancer was suddenly well enough to leave the hospital. To the average person reading the news it seemed to be strange news that was too good to be true, and Lady would even admit that if she hadn't been looking for something to do with death and reapers she may have passed up the news as an oddity herself. But with what Anna told her and what little Lady knew about reapers she had things figured out in her head. To break the seal Lilith would need two reapers. The first reaper would need to be trapped somehow, and a second reaper would need to be lured in as well. And they needed two reapers by midnight on the solstice.

Lady packed up a car she had acquired, a Chevy Cobalt with a fiery red paint job. The car was mostly legal, it had been purchased with cash at a pawn shop and registered under a fake name. The trunk was packed with what she had been able to acquire for herself the past week, the beginnings of a hunter's arsenal. She left the safety of her cottage in Georgia, leaving a note for Anna. Hopefully the angel would see it and be able to provide help. The only offensive tool she had against demons was the silver knife she had charmed a week ago, and it was officially on its maiden voyage. It was definitely a situation where one would appreciate an angel on their shoulder, even a broken one such as Anna.

**December 20, 2008**

Sam and Dean had already been in Greybull a few days. They had discovered that they were also dealing with a case of a missing reaper, and also discovered that the demon Alastair was the one working to break the seal. Their solution to find the missing reaper was to temporarily become spirits, using astral projection to remove their souls from their bodies so they were able to walk around in a ghost-like form. They recruited the help of another psychic, Pamela Barnes, in order to do so. Pamela wasn't pleased with being dragged back into the war, but helped them by completing the spell. She sat in the motel room with their physical bodies while their spirits roamed free. She couldn't communicate with their spirits, but they arranged to have her summon their spirits back to their bodies at midnight. Until then all she had to do was sit and wait.

As astral projections Sam and Dean wandered around the town of Greybull, completely unseen by the population. That is until they saw one young boy watching them from a window, they recognized him as Cole Griffith who was the last person to die in the town and was now a ghost. As Sam and Dean crossed the street toward the house Cole was haunting they were nearly run down by a bright red Chevy Cobalt. The car came to a screeching halt in front of the house, bass thumping to some annoying pop song.

Even knowing there was no way the driver could see them Dean had to let out a curse and a snarl, "Learn how to freaking drive you lunatic!"

The driver cut the engine and stepped out of the car, causing both Dean and Sam to watch in shock as they quickly recognized Lady. Her hair was short, but growing out of the buzzcut she had just the month before. She took her time, stretching from what was most likely a long drive.

"Lady," Sam and Dean both said in surprised awe.

It had been a month since they had heard from Lady. Though it hadn't been said aloud they had both had moments wondering if she had failed and been caught by angels or demons, either one would end deadly for her. But there she was, alive and apparently working the same case.

Sam and Dean recalled at the same time that Alastair was in town, and probably more demons. "Oh…this is bad," Sam said tensely.

Dean came out of his shock and tried to grab Lady's arm, but his hand just flowed through her. "Lady, you can't be here! Listen to me! Hear me, damn it!" Dean snarled.

"Dean, she can't see or hear us," Sam stated the obvious.

"Pamela! Snap us back!" Dean called into the air, but Pamela couldn't hear them either.

Lady let out a huff of breath and smiled at the mist her breath made, "Got to love the Midwest," she said to herself as she looked at the houses. Her gaze stopped at the house haunted by Cole Griffith.

"Lady, demons are in town, you have to leave," Dean said as loud as he could, but unable to hear or see him she walked right up to the haunted house.

XXXXX

Lady tightened her light jacket around her shoulders as an icy breeze flowed. So far the weather had been mild but winter was definitely coming fast.

She put a friendly smile on her face as a middle-aged woman with puffy eyes opened the door. The woman was the mother to a boy named Cole Griffith who had recently passed away, he was the last person in the town to do so. Lady had hopes to find signs of either the missing reaper or the demons involved in breaking the seal, and she thought the place where the boy died would be the best place to start looking.

"Mrs. Griffith, good morning, it's very nice to meet you," Lady said. "My name is Lady, can I come in?"

Without being properly invited Lady grabbed the woman's hand, shaking it enthusiastically, and walked inside. Mrs. Griffith was so confused and overtaken that she didn't protest. "Can I help you?"

Lady smiled, "I'm hoping I can help you." Lady's smile suddenly vanished as she felt the icy breeze again. But this time she was indoors and she recognized it for what it really was. "Mrs. Griffith, I do believe your house is haunted."

XXXXX

"Dean, stop touching her," Sam said uncomfortably as Dean tried in vain to get Lady to acknowledge him. But her saying the house was haunted was the best they'd get from her.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Dean asked as the two women walked into the kitchen.

"Same thing we are doing," Sam answered.

"Mrs. Griffith, I'll get right to the point," Lady said, having difficulty keeping her tone pleasant. "Let me guess, since your son died you've felt…something, his presence. Maybe even seen strange things, heard things?"

Mrs. Griffith's eyes welled up with great big tears and she nodded. "How did you know?"

"Believe me, you aren't crazy," Lady uttered.

"Are you psychic?" Mrs. Griffith asked.

Lady looked blank-faced at her a few moments. Lady was very psychic, just not in the way many people assumed how psychics would work. She had no extra sense that told her about spirits hanging around, just her visions. But instead of explaining any of that she nodded, "Yes, yes I am. And I'm here to help you."

"You know, it's been so long since I got to watch her wrap someone around her finger like that," Dean said quietly, impressed and proud of his girlfriend as she gently manipulated the woman into giving her more information. It was a delicate art, one that Dean himself was quite good at. But Lady had a unique flare to how she worked, she cut corners by using her psychic visions, figuring out little ways to get what she wanted out of whoever it was she was speaking to. In the case of a grieving mother the psychic edge worked well in her favor.

Mrs. Griffith invited Lady upstairs to Cole's room. Dean and Sam followed them. "Cole, honey?" Mrs. Griffith called softly. "Baby, are you here?"

Lady arched an eyebrow at the mother but stayed silent.

Sam and Dean were able to see what Lady couldn't. Cole was in his room, and he looked angry. The spirit grabbed a soccer ball off his dresser and threw it across the room. The intended target seemed to be Sam and Dean, but the ball passed right through them and at his mother instead.

Mrs. Griffith gave out a shriek, and Lady was already ushering her out of the room and downstairs away from the spirit.

"Who are you?" Cole demanded to know.

"Relax, Cole, its okay," Sam said. "Look, this isn't gonna be easy to hear, but…well, you are dead. And you are a spirit. Us, too."

"Yeah, thanks, Haley Joel. I know I'm dead. What do you want?" Cole barked.

"We just want to talk," Sam said.

The three spirits went downstairs to where Lady and Mrs. Griffith were back in the kitchen. Mrs. Griffith was pouring herself a stiff drink while Lady watched her with concern.

XXXXX

Lady thought of herself as a people person, however she had never been very good at comforting people. Her method of working was effective, but not subtle or gentle. Sure, she could pat the woman's back and offer her a shoulder to cry on, however she had work to do and not a lot of time.

"Mrs. Griffith, are you affiliated with any church in town?"

"No, no we were never religious," she answered. "What about Cole? What about my baby? Can I talk to him? How is he? Is he okay? I miss him so much! Can he hear me?" she sobbed and begged to know.

Lady fought the grimace she wanted to make. She wasn't an expert on spirits but she knew enough. If she wanted to she could get a Ouija board and chit-chat with Cole, but why bother? Of course he wasn't okay, he was dead and was probably trapped. But how can you tell a grieving mother that her baby boy anything like that? So Lady lied.

"I promise you, he is fine. He isn't suffering, he isn't in pain. But the reason a person becomes a spirit is because they have trouble crossing over, and when that happens the spirit gets frustrated and confused." Before anymore questions could be asked Lady firmly said, "I want to help. Help you and your son. But to do that I need some time alone in the house with him. Is there anywhere you can go for the rest of the day? A holy church would really be best. Catholic, if you can stand the nuns. Lutheran or Episcopal are relatively safe as well." Lady's voice had an undertone of urgency while her face looked hopeful.

Cole's mother looked confused by the request but said, "The father at the Catholic church did invite us to a service."

"Great. I need you to go there, and stay there as late as possible," Lady said seriously. "Spend the night, if you could."

Lady walked the woman out, assuring her several times that everything would be okay even while the spirit of Cole began to make the lights flicker and temperature drop in the house. Lady stood outside the door, watching the car back out of the driveway and into the street. When it turned a corner Lady went to her own car, grabbing two bags out of the trunk and going back into the house.

Once back inside Lady's fatigue hit. It had been a long car ride with very few breaks. She went to the kitchen where half a pot of coffee remained and she helped herself. She pulled a book from her bag and sat at the table, flipping through pages for something helpful while sipping on coffee.

Lady quickly became frustrated by the book and leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes and thinking. She knew that two reapers were needed as a sacrifice to the solstice moon. It was with good assumption that one reaper was already captured. And she could only hope that they didn't already have the second one.

With the last of the coffee gone Lady got up from the table. The best plan she had been able to come up with was to catch another reaper before a demon could. While reliable information on Reapers was very scarce she had found an easy ritual to attract and pin Reaper's down. It was based off of a black magic ritual that Sam and Dean had once come across, however Lady watered it down and removed the part of binding the reaper to her will to make it more friendly. The hardest thing to find for the ritual was a being that needed to cross over, such as Cole's spirit that was nearby.

Lady got to work by finding the center of the house, the ground floor in the living room. She flipped over a rug and moved a chair to expose hardwood floor. On it she drew in white shoe polish, she found the sponge on top of it made it much easier to be precise than can of spray paint. She drew a complex sigil that took over thirty minutes to complete. When done she lit two white candles on the floor. She stood up and looked around expectantly.

XXXXX

"What is she doing?" Cole asked. Unbeknownst to Lady he and the Winchesters had followed her around the house while she worked, and continued to watch her.

"Some sort of ritual, not sure what," Sam admitted.

Lady let out a disappointed breath and nearly pouted. "What the hell did I do wrong?" she uttered to herself, walking in a slow circle around the sigil she had drawn.

Out of no where the spirits felt a change, but Lady didn't appear to notice anything. In a panic Cole cried out, "He's back!" and fled.

Sam and Dean looked around wildly, trying to catch sight of what it was. A ghostly visage swarmed into the house, aiming straight at them. It took them a moment to realize that it was one of the reaper's forms. It reached the sigil Lady had put on the floor and froze in its spot, let out a frustrated howl and began to change its shape.

Instead of a strange ghostly being it changed into a beautiful woman with long dark hair. She looked at the sigil below her feet with disdain before turning the unhappy gaze to Lady. The candles beside the sigil flickered but stayed lit.

Lady frowned and wiped her hands off on her jeans, "Could of sworn I drew the damn thing right." Lady turned and headed back into the kitchen to consult her book.

"I hate witches," the female reaper said in an upset tone. She turned to face Sam and Dean, looking them over with curiosity before saying, "Hello again, Dean."

"Do I know you?" Dean looked at her in confusion.

"We go way back," she answered. She held out her hand to him and when she neared the edge of the sigil the air shimmered around her. "The spell can't harm you, it's meant for something like me."

Dean hesitantly reached for her hand. When his fingers touched the edge of the spell, the shimmering air, he felt something like static electricity. Pressing further his hand touched hers.

Dean's senses got a momentary overload when the reaper touched him. She gave him back memories he had lost or blocked out from when he had been in a coma years ago. He was on his deathbed and she had come for him, but before he had decided to go with her his father made a deal with a demon to bring him back. Dean remembered it vividly now.

"Tessa," he recalled her name as he took his hand back.

"That's one of my names, yeah," she answered, looking slightly pleased at him.

"You were there after the accident," Dean said numbly.

"The accident with Dad?" Sam questioned, feeling out of the loop. Dean only nodded. "So this is the reaper that came after you?"

"Yeah," Dean answered. He stepped back from Tessa, "We should find a way to get you free."

"I'm not too worried about this, it's a temporary and weak binding spell," Tessa answered. "It'll break at sunset. Not that I like losing time, however there isn't much else to do but wait."

"Sure, but demons are in town. They've already snatched your reaper pal. For all we know, they could try and snatch you, too," Dean warned.

"I can't leave. This town is off the rails, and I have to set it straight," Tessa said. "I don't care much about your angel-demon dance-off. I just want to do my job."

"Right, yeah, and we want to help you do your job. So, if you could just bail town…" Sam began to bargain.

"No," Tessa said firmly.

"Please, at least give us time to fix this," Dean pleaded. "Just, hold off on reaping the kid until we can talk to him."

Tessa looked out the window where the sun was descending to the horizon and back to him, "You have until sunset."

"I'll go find him," Sam said, running upstairs.

Dean was tense as Tessa watched Lady like an angry lion. Lady was completely oblivious, helping herself to a peanut butter sandwich.

"Friend of yours?" Tessa asked him.

"Well…yeah," Dean admitted. "You aren't going to hold a grudge against her trapping you, are you?"

"Not like I could," Tessa said stiffly.

"That's right, you can only reap people whose number is up. You don't actually kill them," Dean said.

"Yes. But even if her number was up, she gets a ride from a different bus company, so to speak," Tessa answered. "I haven't seen her kind in a while, I thought they all got wiped out with their so-called Goddess. But her brand of witch has their own special ushers."

"Psychopomps," Dean said numbly. The spectral birds that Lady deathly feared and had pulled her into the spirit realm.

"If that's what you want to call them," Tessa said.

Dean worked to keep both Tessa and Lady in his line of sight, and just as he was wondering where the hell Sam was his brother and Cole came downstairs.

Cole looked at Tessa with fear and mistrust, and Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Cole. Just tell them what you told me," Sam encouraged him.

"I saw the black smoke at my funeral. At the funeral home. It was everywhere," Cole said.

As if speaking about it summoned it the lights of the house began to flicker and electricity crackled and popped. In the kitchen Lady froze, then dove under the kitchen table just as the front door burst open. A thick cloud of black smoke swarmed in. For several seconds the black smoke seemed to fill the house, blinding them all. And then it vanished as quickly as it came.

Lady picked herself up off the floor, her protective gris-gris bag in her hand. Dean was relieved to see she had survived the brief onslaught from a demon, but then he noticed that Tessa the Reaper was no longer standing in her sigil.

"Dean…" Sam pleaded with his brother.

Dean turned on Sam. "What the hell do we do now? How the hell do we fight that?"

"I don't know. Learn some ghost moves?" Sam suggested weakly.

"By tonight? Yeah, sure. I'll meet you back at Mr. Miyagi's," Dean joked.

Cole looked between the two brothers and innocently asked, "Who's Mr. Miyagi?"

XXXXX

Once the demon left Lady went back into the living room to see the candles blown out and tipped over, and the sigil had changed from bright white to smudged with sulfur. "Oh, fuck me," she groaned as she realized that her trap had worked, and she had basically hooked the reaper for the demon.

Working fast she cleaned up the mess she had made in the living room, determined to leave as little trace of herself as possible. Even though sunset was quickly approaching she told herself she hadn't failed just yet. She would be able to track the demon, find the reaper, and stop the seal from being broken.

She hoped.


	14. Death Takes a Holiday Cont December 2008

**December 21, 2008**

Lady began to get anxious as the sun set and she was still scrambling to find out where the demon was performing the ritual. Using the sulfur the demon had left behind and a local map she made up a modified tracking spell. Demons were harder to find than humans simply because they didn't have bodies of their own. The sulfuric residue left by the demon wasn't like a person's hair or blood, it wasn't necessarily tied to the demon that left it. Without some impressive witchcraft tools, which she was yet to acquire, she had to make due with her own ingenuity. Luckily for Lady she was rather creative and daring when desperate. Trying out a spell she made up off the top of her head was a quick way to accidentally blow oneself up, lord know she'd nearly done that a few times in the past. However this spell fortunately did not blow up in her face, and it narrowed down the demon's location to the downtown area of Greybull.

She hectically drove downtown, narrowly avoiding a few accidents and skidding on the ice to a stop. She got out of her car, feeling the mediocre comfort of her knife and pistol on each side of her hip. With fear she looked up at the sky, the moon high overhead and at an excellent location to begin rituals.

She felt hope begin to wane with the amount of places a demon could be hiding. It was a business district with several buildings around a busy intersection. And then her eyes fell on a sign for a Funeral Home. "Oh, for brilliant," she uttered to herself, running across the street and flipping off a car that honked at her as she did so. Instead of running right into the building she walked around to the back alley.

As she examined the perimeter she mentally kicked herself for not thinking of it earlier. Any spirits that followed their bodies to the funeral service would be accompanied by their Reaper, and be easy to pick up. Not to mention it was just such an obvious place that it wouldn't be the first place anyone would look.

Walking through the alley Lady stopped at the smell of sulfur. She had expected sulfur, it lingered around demons. But it seemed to be mixed with something sickly sweet. She doubted it could have been the overflowing dumpster from the Mexican Restaurant a few buildings down. It was a peculiar smell, something she knew but couldn't quite put her finger on. It wasn't something she immediately recognized as having to do with any sort of ritual, but it was going to bother the hell out of her until she recognized it.

Lost in her thoughts and the smells of the alley Lady's future-sight was too late to warn her when the back door of the funeral home opened. She tried to hide but she was immediately spotted, and quickly recognized by the two demons.

"Oh, the boss is going to love this," one of them said, grabbing her and slamming her against the wall as she tried to flee.

Lady grunted and fought to breathe for a moment. The demon was strong and had pushed her against the wall hard enough to split her lip so she could taste blood. Managing to get the side of her face flat against the brick she breathed deeply and realized the smell was stronger on the side of the building as if it had been sprayed on there. And she recognized what the smell was. Frankincense. And where she recalled the smell from. Not from any ritual she had done or stopped, but from her time in a Catholic school as a child.

Frankincense was popular in Christian and Jewish services, but not in Pagan or Demonic rituals. And now that she was pressed up against the wall she could also smell something chalky. The mix of smells and their location on the wall clicked in her head and she realized what it was. A banishing ritual had been performed on the funeral home, probably at the last full moon, in order to keep angels out. Not just out, but make them completely helpless to stop what was going on inside. Though Lady was unsure if Anna had gotten her message yet and was coming to help, with the magic on the building it wouldn't matter.

"Take her inside, I'll go on," one demon said.

"Why do you get to have all the fun?" the one holding Lady demanded to know.

"If you hurry up I'll save you one of them to skin," the demon promised before jogging away.

The demon growled slightly and pulled Lady away from the wall then pushed her into the funeral home. Lady only struggled enough to make it obvious she didn't like being manhandled, but not enough to give the demon a stronger desire to break her limbs. They reached the room where coffins were put on view, and she was shoved forward. "Look what I found!"

Lady stopped short of a large sigil drawn on the smooth linoleum floor. It was beautifully crafted, drawn in brilliantly white chalk and had a slight sparkle to it. Design wise it was similar to the one she had made, however it would have been fused with a recent death to make it harder to break. All in all, it was an impressive ritual site. Though she couldn't actually see them she had no doubt that the reapers were right there in front of her.

"Lady, so nice to meet your acquaintance," another man said. His eyes were pure white as he looked at her, but he quickly brought them back to appear more human. He smiled wide and looked over to a viewing coffin. There was a chain hanging around it that Lady assumed was to keep people out. Gleefully he seemed to speak to the coffin, "So very, very, nice."

XXXXX

After Lady had left the Griffith's house Sam and Dean had worked with Cole to learn how to focus their spiritual selves so they'd have a chance at saving the Reapers. They stayed as late as they dared before ambushing the funeral home. They had managed to knock a demon down, but had been tricked into the viewing area for the coffin. A stage that was maybe six inches higher than the rest of the floor. Once they were in place another demon wrapped the iron chain around the whole area, trapping them.

After that Alastair taunted them with the two reapers on the ritual site waiting to be sacrificed and a shotgun filled with rocksalt. The two other demons were sent away, Dean knew from experience Alastair preferred personal time with his victims over having an audience. But then one of the other demons quickly returned with Lady in tow. Alastair grinned at the boys, and for several seconds Dean was frozen in fear that he was going to watch Alastair torture Lady. They had three hours until midnight when Pamela would call their souls back to their bodies, plenty of time for some torture.

"I'm so happy you've gotten over your affliction," Alastair spoke to Lady. "Last time I saw you, you were soiling yourself."

Lady shifted her shoulders to test how tight the demon was holding her, and he was holding her very effectively and painfully tight. "Guess you'll forgive me if I don't remember you. But I have heard of you. Alastair, right?" Lady looked at his smug face and added, "Don't look too pleased. I was actually hoping for Lilith."

Alastair's eyes widened and he took a step closer to her, "Now why would you want to go get yourself into trouble with Lilith. Unless…"

"You son of a bitch leave her alone!" Dean snarled and charged at the iron chains as Alastair grabbed and struggled with Lady briefly.

After a few short moments Alastair backed away with a silver knife in his hand. "My, what do we have here?" He put the blade under his nose and inhaled, "Mmm, that is just vibrating with power. I bet you made this hoping it would kill demons. Like that other knife your pals the Winchesters have."

"That was the idea," Lady said.

"Does it work?" Alastair asked.

"One way to find out," she answered.

Alastair smiled serenely at her, and without warning stabbed forward right over Lady's head and into the demon that was holding her. She was released and she rolled away immediately. With wide eyes she watched the demon stare at Alastair, the knife firmly in its chest, and then it began laughing. "It tickles," he said.

As the demon laughed tendrils of smoke began to move from the knife still lodged in its chest and up. The demon's laughter halted and for a moment it just froze, and then began howling in intense pain. It fell back on the floor, flailing around until it smoked out of its host's body screaming.

"Well, that didn't sound pleasant. Congratulations, you made a knife that kills the host and excises the demon," Alastair taunted her with a happy chuckle.

Lady let out a disappointed breath. "Well that sucks. You know I nearly got killed trying to make that."

"I do commend you, it came close," Alastair said.

"Close isn't nearly close enough," Lady replied. "So let me guess, you aren't going to let me just walk out of here, are you?"

Alastair shook his head slowly, "But you'll probably like to know I'm not going to kill you…tonight." Alastair looked back at Sam and Dean, obviously pleased. He had Sam and Dean, helpless to watch him do whatever he wanted to their dearly loved friend Lady. It wasn't his favorite type of torture, but at least it was still torture.

"If I get a choice I'd prefer to just get it over with," Lady said tensely.

Alastair looked back at her, "Oh, no, no, no!" he chuckled. "See, we need to keep you alive. There is an important ritual that calls for someone with your unique qualifications."

Lady stiffened. "So you figured out the Stone of Seals."

"Oh yes," Alastair said.

"So I'm not even lucky enough for you to kill me now?"

"No," he answered happily.

"Well, at least you'll have to go easy on me after I piss you off," Lady said tensely.

Alastair looked intrigued and slightly confused. He had expected Lady to do something, after all her type thought they were some sort of hero there to save the day. He was prepared to throw her back to keep her away from his ritual site. He watched Lady lick her lips, a bit cut up and puffy from her earlier meeting with the lower demon. Her jaw moved inside her mouth, and then without warning she spit a large blob of salvia mixed with blood. "Well, that's not very Lady-like," Alastair mused.

"Wasn't it?" Lady grinned smugly back at him and nodded toward his ritual site. The carefully drawn sigil was marred by the spit. "Let me guess, you drew it with chalk made from ground bones. Good base for a holding spell, with the drawback that it becomes unreliable when blood is spilt within it. Probably wasn't a concern for you since Reapers don't have blood."

Sam and Dean watched with wide eyes as the two weakened Reaper's began to stir, the magic that had bound them weakening. "Tessa! Can you move? Can you run away?" Sam called out as the reaper came to.

"No, no, no!" Alastair roared furiously.

Lady couldn't have looked happier, "I take that as I just ruined everything?"

Alastair bared his teeth at her, and her smile faded only a second before he raised his hand and she went flying through the air. Her back struck a wall and she crumpled at the bottom.

Both reapers vanished from the ritual site, and Tessa reappeared next to Sam and Dean. She lifted the chain, freeing them from their prison. "We need to go," she warned them.

Sam and Dean weren't about to leave Lady there. Working together they knocked Alastair down before he could continue his attack on Lady. As spirits they needed focus and strong emotion in order to affect the physical world, and they had plenty of that right then.

With both of them against Alastair they managed to knock him right out the door and into the back alley of the funeral home. As they worked to keep Alastair occupied and away from Lady Sam began to hear Pamela's voice inside his head.

"Dean, we're going back," Sam tried to warn his brother that Pamela was summoning his spirit back to his body.

Dean didn't hear him though, and the next moment Sam was gone. Sam woke up in the hotel room to chaos. Pamela had been attacked by one of the demons that had been working with Alastair at the funeral home. She had been stabbed, but unable to die because the reapers were out of business in the town.

Now on his own Dean faced Alastair, standing between the demon and his entrance back into the funeral home where Lady was. "How sweet, protecting the woman you love, are you?" Alastair taunted him. "How 'bout we go back in there and I tell her about all the things you did for me in hell? How 'bout I show her some of those things?"

Before Dean could come up with any retort bright white lightening, several bolts, all struck Alastair at once in a great boom of thunder. "What the hell?" Dean gasped in surprise after the light faded and Alastair was gone.

"Guess again," the angel Castiel said, appearing by his side.

Castiel explained how he had lured the brothers there to stop Alastair, and that they succeeded and also helped them capture Alastair. He congratulated him on a job well done, and quickly vanished again.

The next moment Dean was summoned back to the motel to find a dead body from the excised demon, and Pamela beginning to bleed to death. And it sure didn't feel like a job well done.

Pamela Barnes died shortly before midnight, and there was no one to blame but themselves for her death. To make it worse they had to leave her body in the motel with plans to phone in an anonymous tip the next day, they couldn't risk getting questioned by police and arrested. But before leaving town they had to return to the funeral home to see if Lady made it out on her own.

The funeral home was trashed because of the whole ordeal, but Lady was no longer there. They also found the red car she had been driving on the street, it appeared to be abandoned by her.

"Where do you think she went?" Sam asked. "You don't think another demon found her, do you?"

Dean hadn't thought that but now glared at Sam for suggesting that possibility. "I don't know. Castiel showed up right before Pamela called me back, what if it was him?" As if the day couldn't have ended any worse. Pamela had been a good woman, she had only helped them because they asked. They had practically begged her. The people that had escaped death before were now dying. And then Lady vanished once again. Ever since talking to her the month before he had been hoping to hear back from her again. There was nothing he could do but keep pushing on through all of it, but it was getting so hard to keep moving forward when bodies kept piling up in front of him.

XXXXX

Lady had gotten knocked out when Alastair flung her across the room. When she came to the room was empty. In a daze she wandered out the front door, desperate to reach her car and make a run for it. The fog in her head didn't help her future-sight so she had no warning when one second she was on the sidewalk in front of the funeral home, and the next she was back in the cabin in Georgia where she had been staying.

"Whoa…" Lady swayed on her feet as her head pounded.

Anna was standing in front of her looking furious. Her dark eyes were wide, her mouth drawn, it was the most emotion that Lady had witnessed on her face since meeting the angel. "Are you crazy?"

"We met in an insane asylum, remember?" Lady answered.

"Do you know how close you came to being killed?" Anna nearly spat.

"I might still die, pretty sure I have a concussion," Lady complained while gingerly touching her head. She shuffled her feet to the small kitchenette to look for some ice. The only food in the freezer were a pair of hot pockets so she placed those against the bump that was forming on her head. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in nearly a week, I was sort of counting on you as back up."

"You are lucky I was able to get close enough to grab you when I did. There were a dozen angels hovering around. Thank God their focus was on catching Alastair, otherwise we'd have a dozen angels on us right now," Anna scolded her.

"No, just one," an angel appeared from thin air next to Anna. Her hair was very dark and very curly with streaks of silver.

Lady steadied herself against a chair, trying hard to ignore the pain in her head so she could pay attention. "Did I black out or did this chick just appear out of no where?"

Lady jumped backwards as Anna flung herself at the new angel. "Lady, run!" Anna warned.

Lady couldn't run, the only way out of the small cottage was blocked by two wrestling angels. She did her best to avoid the powerful beings.

Anna wasted little time in pulling out her gleaming silver short sword, but it was knocked from her hand immediately. After several moments of fighting with the angel Anna was knocked down and was losing. Lady moved forward and grabbed the short sword. It was heavier than it looked and she had to use both arms to raise it up and control it. Her future-sight guided her to a perfect strike to the other angel's chest in order to save Anna.

When the blade hit the angel Lady felt the mystical power shift around her, as if the air itself was vibrating. And then the after blast knocked her back as the angel's magical grace erupted from the vessel's body. And the power from the sword seemed to kick back at her, a jolt that went up her palms and through her arms until it hit her chest.

She had just killed an angel. One of the oldest beings she knew of, and it died at her hand. Even though the situation had been kill-or-be-killed she felt shaken by what she had done. With some effort she swallowed back the bad feeling and helped Anna to her feet, "You okay?"

Anna nodded, "Yes, thanks to you." Anna searched the angel's body and found a second short sword. "We need to flee."

"Okay, just zap me back to my car in Greybull and then we can go anywhere," Lady said.

"No, they've found your car by now. We are leaving now," Anna said.

Before Lady could protest Anna put her hand on her shoulder. The next instant they were covered with bright sunlight. Lady shielded her eyes, "What? Where the hell am I now?" She turned around to see she was on a sandy beach beside the ocean, though it was far too cold to be out sunbathing.

"Greece," Anna announced.

Lady looked at her severely, "Greece?! Like…across the god damn ocean, Greece?"

"Yes," Anna answered. "Hopefully you can stay safe here."

Lady looked around with wide eyes, "No, no, no! No! You can't just take me to some foreign land and…" Lady spun back around to find that Anna was gone. "Anna! ANNA!"


	15. Greece, Christmas 2008

**December 22, 2008**

Lady was struggling with her impromptu vacation overseas. She was able to discover she was in the town of Naupactus, a small town near the coast. Her first impression of the locals was that they were very nice, and didn't speak nearly enough English to accommodate her. She managed to get lucky finding a couple of tourists from the United Kingdom that spoke snooty English. They helped her get situated in a rented room and they offered to call the US Embassy for her, she hoped she convinced them not to. Lady was very fond of the idea of being sent back to America, but she just didn't want to do so in handcuffs which is what she assumed would happen with her lack of identification or legal identity period.

The rented room was in someone's house, which made Lady uncomfortable. She preferred motels, hotels, or even just the backseat of her car or squatting somewhere. Though that mostly had to do with her preference of performing the odd protection ritual which sometimes included shedding some blood, or just so she could walk around naked after a shower. However she was not in any position to bargain or complain, at least until she managed to steal enough of whatever it was that counted for currency in Greece.

Her hosts were an older couple, if she had to guess she'd say in their sixties. Lady immediately cringed at the excessive amount of religious relics that decorated the house. The painting of the Last Supper, multiple ornate crucifixes, and hanging rosaries. "What? No Zeus?" Lady uttered to herself as a joke that didn't make her feel any better about the situation. Even in the midst of a war between real angels and very real demons she immediately had a bitter taste toward the Catholic faith. At least the Pagans, while far from perfect, hadn't started the apocalypse.

The woman said something to her, to which Lady could only blankly stare back at her. The friendly English translators had left, paying for her one night stay. Too tired to try to communicate Lady went to the room, and locked the door.

The only thing she had was the angel-killing sword, her pistol, the clothes on her back, and a backpack with a few ingredients she used to keep herself cloaked from magical searches. Even though Lady was exhausted she dumped out her backpack to see what she managed to bring with her. A white stick candle had broken, a vial of holy water had mostly spilled, and she was missing a canister of salt and her notebook which she had written out possible Seals to be on the look for among other protection spells that she was working on but had not yet worked out enough to be considered safe.

In the nightstand Lady found a bible, written in Greek. She ripped out two pages for her own use. On each page she drew a pentagram with holy water. She picked at the white candle until she could expose a new wick and lit it. Holding the candle she spoke softly, "I consecrate myself with fire so I can defend myself, and protect myself with the power I have," and set the corner of the first paper on fire. She watched it carefully until it was all ash and made sure all the red embers were gone. She picked up the second piece of paper and closed her eyes. In her mind she pictured those she missed and loved, the Masons, Bobby, the Winchesters, the people she desperately wished she was with and that she'd survive long enough to see again. "These are my good friends, I'll keep them close until the end. Evils dwell within our world, protect them from the unknown cold. This orb of light I send unto them, will keep them safe until the end. These are my close friends, protect them until the very end," she uttered softly before setting the next piece of paper on fire.

In most cases Lady wouldn't have bothered with such idle spells that felt like they were little more than prayers, but these days they could all use any little extra help they could get.

She opened a window to get rid of the smell of burned paper and pulled back the covers on the bed. Being dropped off and abandoned by Anna pissed her off, but she was just too tired to do much about it right then. It wasn't like she could do much to Anna anyway. It was laughable that Lady could even try to go toe-to-toe with an angel. Demons were still far outside her pay grade though that never stopped her before. Eventually Anna would come back for her, and when she finally did Lady would have no choice but to swallow the bitter resentment and move on. Until then she had to suffer through her forced exile into Greece.

**December 23, 2008**

_Lady was standing in a beautiful church with high stained glass windows and glossy waxed floors. The pews were filled with the congregation and standing at the altar was an elderly priest and several nuns. An unsettling feeling overcame her and Lady turned to walk away, to escape. Blocking her exit was a statue of the Virgin Mary, and the eyes began to bleed. Lady backpedaled, her breath coming in quick gasps. She turned around again, and was instead in a hallway. It was dark, but at the end was a door with bright light coming from the cracks. She ran, her feet slipping on the waxed floors. She reached the door and pushed and pulled. The solid wood wouldn't budge so she began to bang on it, desperate to get through. The door creaked and opened, letting blindingly white light wash over her…_

Lady jerked awake and stared at the ceiling of the unfamiliar room for several minutes as she held onto the remnants of the dream. The white light, which was probably pieces of her vision of Lucifer, came through her dreams almost nightly. The church had to be because she was in a house with far too many religious relics.

With the sun coming up Lady pulled herself out of bed, working stiff muscles and briefly leaving the room to use the bathroom. Not long after getting dressed her hostess knocked on her door. When Lady answered it the woman began chatting in Greek while leading Lady to the dining room for breakfast. Lady waited until her hosts began eating before she sampled the food herself. Though she was starving she just didn't trust them not to poison her, she'd rather go to a restaurant where the worst she'd have to worry about was someone else's hair or maybe some spit. After breakfast she returned to her room, packed up and began to leave. The woman met her at the door and made several gestures with her hands and spoke loudly in Greek. From what Lady could figure out the woman was trying to get her to stay and kept gesturing toward a table with a Christmas nativity scene on it along with a platter of snack food. Lady looked hopelessly at the woman, "You keep talking but I still don't understand a word of what you are saying. Just…thank you, and I hope you aren't asking me for money right now because I have none and I really don't want you to call the cops on me," Lady said, and slipped out the door.

It was colder than she would have liked, but she would manage. Through the town she took advantage of a busy downtown district with heavy foot traffic. She frequently bumped into pedestrians to lift wallets from pockets and purses, and learned how to apologize in Greek. She tried to act her part as a tourist. Sightseeing had never been a hobby of hers, so that she was in a part of the world with ancient history and rich culture didn't move her at all. She just wanted to get what she had to in order to survive until her damned angel came back for her.

She was surprised that Christmas celebrations were not too different than what she was used to. It wasn't quite as commercialized as America was, and it seemed more of the original Pagan influences hadn't been washed away. But every store front had wreaths and trees, lights and ornaments.

Lady had never been big on celebrating holidays, but the past few years she had usually managed to spend the holidays with at least Bobby. Bobby didn't celebrate either, other than an ordered-in dinner and top-shelf liquor. The Mason's, on the other hand, were all about excuses to get the family together for a feast and a party. And for the past month Lady had been completely cut off from human companionship, and it was lonely. And scary. And a swirl of other emotions she hadn't taken the time to sort through.

While wandering around the town Lady saw a building that had several signs on it, one of which was a letter. Cautiously she stepped inside to find herself in a post office, or at least its Greek equivalent. A bored looking man behind a counter looked at her and she asked, "You speak English?" He looked back at her blankly, which she suspected meant he did not. Frustrated she held up a wad of Greek money she had stolen, grabbed a plain postcard off a rack and a pen. The man was patient as she wrote on the card, filling the whole side of the card with cramped writing in Latin. On the front she did a few small drawings, warding sigils. She dragged her fingernail, leaving a slight impression in the flimsy card, and then pressed her lips to it. Again it was a small and weak protection spell, but there was only so much she could do to protect herself while sending a piece of paper through the mail. She handed it to the man behind the counter and offered him a few pieces of money. He pressed buttons on his computer and gave her back change and took the card to where she hoped it would be mailed.

She proceeded to explore the town, and began to even understand the currency as she started purchasing new supplies. By sundown she went to the bluffs looking over the beach and ocean while the moon rose overhead. If she ignored the sounds of waves crashing on rocks below her she could pretend she was on the cliffs behind Mason's house over the lake, though that didn't make her feel any better. But it was quiet and peaceful, if the weather wasn't so frigid she wouldn't have minded just camping under the stars, but without the sun the temperature dropped below freezing and soon she was shivering.

She went back into town. Her exploring throughout the day didn't turn up any motels, and she had yet to stumble across another tourist or a local who spoke English to ask where she could rent a room. So she went back to the house she had slept in the night before. She knocked on the door and the man answered very quickly, and seemed happy to let her back into his house. Lady held up cash, hoping to communicate that she wanted to rent the room another night. The man nodded and took some while leading her to the dining room where supper was being served.

The woman and man chatted happily over supper, they seemed to enjoy having company because they kept smiling at Lady. At some point the woman got up and returned with a picture frame, holding it out to Lady to look at. Lady held it, recognizing her hosts and what must have been their children. "Your family…you all look happy," Lady said, having a hard time not being jealous. But she wondered where the two children in the photo were. They were grown, probably off at school or with families of their own. But there was no way Lady would be able to find out.

Her hostess said something and gestured, and Lady realized she was being given an opening to speak. She had spoken a surprisingly small amount the past few days, no one understood her. But she figured what the hell. "Well, I don't have a real family. I have a collection of misfits that I miss, a lot. Every day I wonder if they are alive, dead, in some alternate plane of existence. All of which are perfectly reasonable things to expect. I'm stuck in a country I don't know anything about, other than your ancient gods which I know a little too much about. But hey, food isn't half bad. And you guys haven't tried to poison me, so here is to good company." Lady smiled and raised her glass of wine. Her hosts laughed and happily toasted with her.

**December 24, 2008**

_Lady approached a large wooden door cautiously, pistol in her hand. She had to be ready, ready to fight and face what was behind the door. This time she wouldn't let it overcome her, she would stand her ground and wouldn't go mad at the sight of the bright light. She'd see the way to stop it. Just as she was ready to throw open the door it opened on its own accord. Her breath stopped for a heartbeat when instead bright light it was Dean stepping through the door. Immediately she was overwhelmed and relieved, and the next instant she wrapped her arms around his neck. She must have been choking him she was holding him so tight, but she couldn't help herself. She found herself confessing how much she missed him and worried about him, baring emotions she usually kept guarded to everyone. The next thing his body was covering hers as they laid on a plush bed of white blankets. Lady remembered the last time she had sex very well and it was way, way too long for her to go without. With desperate need she kissed him and grabbed at him, but the sensations were muted and not quite doing it for her. But she kept trying, knowing what she wanted and racing to get it before…_

Lady woke up. For a few moments she just laid still, holding onto the dream so it wouldn't fade away. She didn't like her dreams, and considering all the nightmares she had she thought it only fair that she could get one good sex dream out of the deal. But that just wasn't her luck.

Unable to go back to sleep she got up and went down the hall. She was surprised that her hostess was awake and working on cleaning. Immediately the woman began chatting in Greek. "Whoa, whoa, not before sunrise," Lady pleaded. "And especially not while I'm in my underwear."

But the woman was unphased that Lady was creeping about her house in a t-shirt and undies. And Lady didn't care much who saw her naked, either. As the woman spoke she was grabbing towels out of a closet and pushing them on Lady and nudging her toward the bathroom. Lady thought she didn't smell half-bad for missing out on a shower for a few days, but apparently her hostess thought differently.

Lady showered, a task that took very little time since her hair was so short. But that didn't mean she didn't stretch it out a little longer just for the simple pleasure of the hot water and steam. For a moment she couldn't believe her luck in Greece, finding such a hospitable couple. Lady appreciated favors, on more than one occasion she had survived only because of other people's charity. It was important to her that when she could repay those favors that she did, and as she finished her shower and dried off she began to think of ways she may be able to do that for her hosts.

Lady came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and walked back to her room. She stopped at the doorway, her eyes wide as she saw her hostess in there. It looked like she was changing the bedding when she found the bible that Lady had been ripping pages out of. But she also found pages that Lady had drawn occult symbols on in preparation to use. In hindsight Lady suddenly realized how bad that must look to such a strict Catholic, however Lady herself was rather desensitized to religions.

"I'm sorry, I'll get you a new one," Lady offered.

The woman recoiled away from Lady and looked horrified. And then with a terrified and angry hiss she said, "_Magissa!_"

Though Lady had not understood a word the woman had said since meeting her she understood that word without any help, she'd just been called a witch. Normally that didn't bother her, however she knew what that meant in the woman's head. Witch was synonymous for evil.

Quickly Lady grabbed her jeans and began putting them on the same time the woman began screaming for her husband, over and over again calling her a witch. Lady grabbed her stuff, making sure not to leave anything important, and hurried out the door. She could only hope that the woman was smart enough not to call the cops on someone she suspected of being a witch. But without taking chances Lady ran away from the scene, her wet hair stiffening into icicles in the cold Christmas Eve morning.

Throughout the day church bells rang, calling people to the Holiday services. If Lady wasn't worried about bumping into her former hosts she may have tried to sneak into one for the free meal. But instead she kept her distance from everyone. However she was okay with that, she had work that needed to be done. She had protection spells finish working out and eventually performing, she needed to find shelter so she didn't freeze to death over night, far too many things to worry about to complain about being hungry. Halfway across the world, in a place where they freaking spoke English, she hoped her family was doing better.

**Newtown, North Dakota**

Bobby pulled into the Casino on the edge of town. Before he had killed the engine Maxine Mason was crossing the parking lot to him. He stepped out of the car, a steal briefcase in his hand. Inside was part of a slab of granite that held part of a ritual that demons needed in order to discover all available seals to release Lucifer. He didn't feel comfortable taking it out of his house let along having it on the road.

Maxine got closer, standing over six feet tall she was taller than him. Her body was definitely feminine, but still thick with muscle. Since taking over as her tribe's medicine woman and handling the challenges that came with it lines on her face began to appear prematurely, along with white hairs streaking through her thick black braid. Though she was in her early thirties she nearly looked middle-aged.

"You made good time," Maxine said.

Before saying anything Bobby took a flask out of his pocket and splashed her in the face with holy water. Maxine grimaced then wiped the water off, "You think I could be possessed by a demon?"

"We're living in dark times," Bobby said grimly.

"That we are," Maxine muttered. "My truck is this way."

Bobby followed Maxine to a white pick-up truck and climbed into the passenger seat. Maxine warned that the gravel roads going out into the vast prairies of the reservation were in rough shape, without four-wheel drive his car wouldn't make it. After a ten hour drive he was okay sitting in the passenger seat for an hour or two.

"You been studying up," Bobby noted as he saw warding sigils against demons and a devil's trap drawn on the ceiling of the truck.

"I've been studying that book you gave me," Maxine admitted.

"_Loaned_ you," Bobby corrected her. "That book is priceless."

"It sure is," Maxine agreed.

"No, really priceless. As in there are only maybe five of them left in the entire world," Bobby said.

"Good thing I made copies of it," Maxine uttered.

Maxine turned off of the highway and onto a rough county road. Bobby watched out the passenger window, working to memorize some landmarks so he could remember the way to go out there again in the future. Light snow had dusted the countryside but had mostly been blown off of the shallow hilltops and settled in the ditches. In the distance he saw a few pieces of heavy equipment, trucks and one bulldozer, working on digging into the frozen ground.

"What's going on that they are working today?" Bobby questioned. It would take a serious emergency to get a construction company to work on Christmas Eve, especially out in the boonies.

"Laying down iron," Maxine told him. "Every day someone is working to enclose the territory. Right now we have five square miles from around my house covered. As we get more iron we are working to make a larger area, but I felt it was more important to get at least one location completely secure."

"Good idea," Bobby approved.

Once at Maxine's home, a nice modern house with a teepee next to it in a field and the lake just half a mile away, Bobby finally opened his briefcase to show Maxine the stone. Last time she saw it had been when they brought it back into the country. "You mind if spend some time with it while you are gone?"

"Go for it, just don't break it," Bobby warned her. "You think you can pick up any visions or something off of it?"

Maxine smiled a bit, "I'm usually not that lucky, but who knows." Maxine gingerly brushed her fingertips against the rough stone, and the hairs on her arms stood up. "There is real power in this stone, I can feel it and…"

Bobby waited expectantly but his patience quickly ended and he urged her, "And what?"

Maxine took her hand away and shook it, "It gives me a bad feeling. Same bad feeling I've been getting off and on for years. Bad things are coming, and this is tied to them. This stone…that demon ever gets her hands on it and we're doomed, aren't we?"

Bobby nodded, "That's the gist."

"I'll guard it with my life," Maxine swore.

Bobby watched her put it in a secure room, which he noticed was marked with demon proofing symbols as well as iron chain hanging all around. It wasn't as safe as his panic room but no demon was going to get it in the few days it was going to be there. He appreciated the effort Maxine was doing so quickly and effectively make her home and territory safe from demons.

"Now that is done, we should head over to my mom's. Supper will be ready soon," Maxine said.

"No thanks, I think I should head home, I got things to do," Bobby lied. Sure, there were plenty of things he had to do. A new bottle of whiskey was near the top of that list. As well as getting ready for his road trip to Illinois for Pamela's funeral, the whole reason he had to drop the slab of stone off at Maxine's to begin with.

Maxine had known Bobby wouldn't take hospitality easily, or at all, and that it would have to be forced on him. Which is why she conveniently told him about the bad roads and had him leave his car in town miles away. It was underhanded and even a bit devious, but the old guy deserved a good home cooked meal and maybe a little social interaction. On a number of occasions Maxine had to do the same thing to Lady until she warmed up to them.

Bobby certainly did not take hospitality graciously, and quickly figured out it was Maxine's plan all along to subject him to a few hours of spending time with her family. When they arrived at Greta and Roy Mason's home there were already two dozen people loitering around outside. A Quonset had been emptied of an array of vehicles and set up with long tables and chairs so the family could eat together. He only knew a handful of them, but they all knew him and eagerly shook his hand to welcome him to Christmas Eve dinner, thanking him for what he did and the knowledge he was sharing with Maxine.

"You pay them to suck up to me?" Bobby questioned Maxine as he sat next to her.

Maxine handed him the breadbasket and shook her head, "Gratitude costs nothing to give."

Bobby found himself out of his element, uncomfortable, surrounded by people he didn't know or consider friends or family. But the food was good, the wine was sweet and made him more inclined to participate in conversation and laugh at the shared stories.

**Cheyenne, Wyoming**

Sam and Dean were set up in a motel room, they both decided the least they could do after getting Pamela killed was go to her funeral. It wasn't for a few more days but they weren't going to take another job until afterward.

If it wasn't for the over the top decorations and lights Sam may have forgotten completely about Christmas. He made an effort to pick up some more traditional food for their take-out, but he didn't think either of them would care to acknowledge the holiday much more than that.

Dean insisted that they stayed in Wyoming, every day he was driving to Greybull to see if the red Cobalt Lady had been driving was there or if she had returned for it. He'd spoken to the policy and using leverage saying he was with the FBI was keeping it from getting towed. He couldn't help it, not knowing if Lady was dead or alive tore at his insides. He watched his phone, the phone she had left him so she could call before, checked with Bobby. For a month he had forced himself to be patient, to let her be and just hope for the best. But that was all out the window now.

"Hope you are hungry," Sam said, offering Dean two Styrofoam containers of dinner.

"Yeah, in a minute," Dean said as he gave up turning his cell phone in his hands and dialed Bobby's number.

"Yeah?" Bobby answered.

"Hey, Bobby…where are you?"

"Sorry? Speak up, I can't hear you," Bobby said, the background noise of laughter and talking made him hard to hear as well. "Hold on, let me go outside."

"Are you at a party?" Dean question in shock.

The background noise vanished with the sound of a door, "No…no…well, sort of. I'm at the Mason's."

Dean was taken aback, "You are spending Christmas with…the Masons?"

"Wasn't supposed to happen like this, but I sort of got kidnapped," Bobby muttered.

"You've been kidnapped?" Dean questioned in confusion.

"Bobby's been kidnapped?" Sam immediately became alert.

Dean shook his head and signaled to his brother that it wasn't necessary.

"Long story. Whatchya need?" Bobby said.

"Just checking if you've heard anything," Dean asked.

Bobby knew what that meant. It was as vague as Dean wanted it to be. If Bobby had heard about a new job that might pique their interest, or the most desirable information about Lady's current status.

"Ain't heard a whisper," Bobby interrupted. Most gently he said, "Sorry, Dean. Just got to wait this one out, when she's safe she'll find a way to let us know."

"Yeah, I guess," Dean muttered, and hung up. With a tired groan he laid back on the bed and began flipping through channels while taking a sip from the bottle of liquor beside his bed. He didn't even bother trying to hide the liquor anymore.

Sam internally debated on whether or not to say anything. Dean was obsessive, but usually about a job or his car or music. Lady was a frequent worry in both their minds, but every day going by that Dean worried about her more Sam started getting angry at her. Lady was smart, clever in a sneaky way, and being cautious was not her style. Angels were very powerful, but she'd managed to bypass them before. That she would risk coming face-to-face with Alastair, but not risk contacting them or getting them a message, pissed him off.

Sam couldn't help it, the anger was just building up and it was all he could do to keep it contained when he wanted to blow up. At Dean for being weak, Lady for being absent, Bobby for not having the answers, at Lilith for what she did.

With practiced control he set the Styrofoam container of food beside Dean's bed, instead of throwing it at him, and sat on his own bed to eat. "This is great food," Sam said, trying to encourage Dean to eat instead of drink his supper.

Dean made a visible effort to put down his bottle and grab one of the containers. Their supper went on in silence while watching bad sitcom reruns.


	16. Head of a Pin, Part 1, Dec 2008

**December 27, 2008**

**Rochelle, Illinois**

Bobby only had one suit and he kept it in the best condition he could. There were only two reasons why he ever put it on. Either he was impersonating an official on a job, or he was going to a funeral.

The weather was pleasantly mild for the beginning of winter, but it was still cold enough that Bobby had his long overcoat on. Though he regretted it when he went inside the funeral home that was overheated with so many bodies.

Though Pamela had lived on the outskirts of normal society she had been rather popular and well-liked. People from all sides of her life came to pay respect one last time before the body was cremated. Bobby was one of many hunters there, and he spotted Sam's towering frame over everyone near the rear of the room.

"Bobby, it's good to see you," Dean said.

Bobby already knew how Pamela died, the real reason. The police report said it was a homicide, stab wound to the stomach resulting in a lacerated liver causing her to bleed to death very quickly. The assailant was said to be Roger Odem, the man that had been possessed by a demon and found dead in the motel room with her. The boys were damn lucky they had narrowly escaped being questioned themselves. But the police seemed happy with an apparent open and shut case. Pamela's body was released to her family quickly for the funeral. Bobby had to think that was the worst Christmas gift one could receive.

They were quiet during the service, and when it was over they were some of the first to leave the overheated funeral home and back into the chilly winter air. They stood outside and watched the hundreds of people file out of the funeral home. Many of them loitered about, striking up conversations.

"You find anything?" Dean asked, trying to appear casual but Bobby knew and reciprocated the same urgency.

Dean was asking about finding any signs of Lady, anywhere, again. Since Greybull she'd once again fallen off the face of the earth. He'd made several trips to check on the car she had left behind, but every time he was disappointed when it remained in the same position and untouched. Even now at the funeral he watched the dozens of people, thinking she heard of Pamela's death and would have come.

"Nothing. Like I said, as soon as I know something you'll know something," Bobby promised him.

Dean nodded, "I know, but I…"

He was interrupted by the chirp of a cell phone. He looked darkly at Sam who was digging in his pocket to pull out his phone. Sam looked at the screen and turned his back to Bobby and Dean and began to walk away as he answered it.

"Everything okay?" Bobby asked.

Dean was obviously tense, they all were lately. "Nothing is okay," Dean said. "Pamela is dead, Lady is MIA, Sam…I don't even know." Dean took a deep breath, obviously trying to keep himself calm and together. "How about you? How is work coming along with that Stone of Seals thing?"

Bobby shrugged, "Could be better. Translating Enochian isn't nearly as easy as it sounds."

"Deciphering the language of the angels doesn't sound easy at all," Dean said.

"Exactly," Bobby huffed. "Last year I found a professor to help translate some of those symbols Lady started drawing in her sleep."

"Yeah? Is he helping you out?" Dean asked.

"No, he's gone missing. Two days after the demons got the other parts of the Stone," Bobby said, his voice was calm and even but his eyes suggested a much more paranoid conspiracy theory lurking.

"You think demons nabbed him to use him as a translator?" Dean questioned.

Bobby shrugged, "Don't know. All I know is I got a hunk of rock with some symbols on it that I don't know how to read. You know what would help is if one of those angels could stop in and read it for us."

Dean shook his head, "Too dangerous," he said, and Bobby nodded. They'd already discussed that before. "We need whatever is on that rock, it might help us find a way to get Lady off the hook. We hand it over to the angels and we'll never see it again. For now it's just a good thing no one knows you have it. You sure it is safe?"

Without hesitation Bobby answered, "It's safe in North Dakota. Maxine has her home pretty secure, and working on getting more of her territory secure, no demons in or out. She's taking the apocalypse pretty damn seriously. Give her enough time and she might turn the whole reservation into a fortified bunker."

"Yeah, well time is one thing we don't have a whole lot of," Dean said.

Sam walked back briskly, "Hey, that was Ruby. She has some leads on Lilith. We need to go meet her. We should leave now. I asked her to meet us back in Cheyenne."

Bobby watched the silent exchange between the brothers. He wasn't sure if Sam was ignoring the obvious exhaustion and pent-up frustration in Dean, or if he was still so hung on killing Lilith that he couldn't see past that. In the end Dean gave in, "Fine, let's go."

Bobby said goodbye to the brothers, and wished them luck and safe traveling. These days he never knew when the next funeral he went to would be one of theirs, or his own.

XXXXX

The brothers reached Cheyenne late at night. Though they had traded off driving so each other could get some sleep they were both tired. But when they got into their motel instead of falling into bed they were greeted by the angels Uriel and Castiel. They demanded Dean help them because angels from their garrison were being murdered. They wanted Dean's help in questioning Alastair, due to their long history with one another, to find the demon responsible. Even though Dean refused the angels took him anyway, leaving Sam alone.

**Greece**

Lady moved swiftly, cringing because her dark form stood out like a sore thumb against the white backdrop of fresh snowfall. She reached a shadowy doorstep and without hesitation punched her clothed elbow through the glass and then reached in carefully to unlock the door to let herself in. She had noticed the collection of mail to show the house was currently empty, perhaps the residents were out of town visiting family for the holidays? Lady didn't care, she was tired of roughing it by camping and staying warm by campfire.

The first thing she did after breaking into the house was raid the kitchen and eat. Next she explored a bit to figure out the residents were a middle-aged couple with grown children by the collection of photos on the wall. She went through the closets, finding herself new clean clothes and then went to the bathroom. At any moment the residents could return home and find her, but she was willing to risk that if she could just wash some of the built-up grime on her.

Lady was dressing into her stolen clothes when Anna appeared. Lady glowered at her, for days she had imagined what she'd say and do to the angel who had abandoned her. "Look who finally decided to come back. You know how many times I've called out for you? I nearly froze my ass off last night."

"Believe me, you were safer here than anywhere else," Anna said grimly.

Lady paused in her temper tantrum, noticing signs of fatigue and even some dishevelment with Anna. "What happened?" Lady asked.

"Since Alastair has been captured it has gotten exceedingly dangerous. Another angel was slain just this morning, and several demons were summoned out of hell. And Lilith has shown desperation, she is running out of seals she can break and needs you."

Lady ground her teeth for a few moments. While she had been miserable she forgot the war was still going on. Not just in the States but across the world. "So now what? Either she finds me and uses me…or you kill me?"

"No, I would never do that to you," Anna said. "But I do need your word that you will do everything you can to keep yourself safe."

"My word, no demon will take me alive," Lady said.

Anna nodded, accepting that. "Good. I managed to lay down a false trail for them leading throughout South America, I believe it is safe to bring you back. Get ready so we can leave."

"I am ready. All you left me here with was a sword and the clothes on my back."

"Good, then we can leave," Anna said, reaching out to touch Lady's shoulder.

The next instant Lady was on a sidewalk in a sleepy town in Wyoming. She immediately recognized the red Cobalt she had been driving parked next to the curb, and not far was the funeral home where Anna had rescued her from. Another second later Anna vanished, leaving Lady alone once again.

**Cheyenne, Wyoming**

Sam felt somewhat abandoned at the motel where Dean was abducted from. And anxious. He had a bad feeling about the whole thing. All he knew was that Dean was somewhere, being faced with his torturer, and he didn't think his brother had the nerve to handle it. Not anymore. Sam loved his brother, but ever since Dean came back from hell he just hadn't been the same.

Ruby arrived and reluctantly helped Sam find the location the angels took Dean, it was considerably easy since angels didn't bother hiding themselves. A simple tracking spell located them in Nebraska. After that Sam asked for her help in another way, to help him pump up his psychic abilities. His abilities came from the demon blood Azazel gave him as a baby years ago, and became stronger when he began willingly drinking demon blood from Ruby. He hated it, the taste and feel of it. But he needed it, he needed to be strong enough to take on Alastair and protect Dean. So he drank deeply, more than he ever had before. After he was done Sam took a few minutes to be disgusted with himself, but was done by the time he had washed his mouth of the taste.

Sam didn't pack up the motel, after feasting on demon blood his adrenaline was pumping and he could feel his psychic abilities at their highest peak. If he was going to face Alastair he couldn't waste any time. He got in the car and left, expecting to return to the motel once he had his brother safely with him.

**Nebraska**

Ever since Alastair had been captured Anna had been patiently watching and listening. The panic and desperation of the demons fearing they could lose, the panic and desperation from the angels fearing the same thing. Alastair was one of the most powerful demons on Earth. Capturing him was impressive even for angels, and holding him prisoner was no easy task. But when the angels went to question him they found that was the true impossible task, they couldn't get him to talk about how angels were being killed.

Anna stayed silent and hidden while considering what to do. She hung back, listening to Uriel demand Dean to help them, that he owed it to them for saving him from hell. And then Dean demanded that Uriel allow him to speak to Castiel alone. She noticed how Dean called Castiel a nickname of 'Cas.' Though Anna was unable to see them like they could see each other, she could see and sense Castiel's energy and grace, he was not hiding his own presence like she was to him. And she noticed that Cas derived some pleasure in having a nickname.

Anna knew that Castiel loved humanity, just how God wanted them to. And that he had a special attachment to Dean over other humans. Castiel had been recently reprimanded for showing signs of emotion and been demoted. Anna had heard all of that through the grapevine days before, but now that she was close enough to sense Castiel's energy she felt a desire of her own to speak to him.

The angels had taken over an abandoned and gutted factory in Nebraska. In a large space that was once used as warehouse storage Alastair was secured within a devil's trap, and Dean was given a selection of torture tools to get to work. Outside in a hallway that connected the storage area to offices and the manufacturing area Castiel kept his post. While he was alone listening to Alastair's tortured screams she appeared.

Castiel looked up at the flickering of lights, a cause of magical energy shifting and disrupting the electricity. "Anna," he felt her presence.

"Hello, Castiel," Anna said.

He turned and looked at her, "Your human body…" he was obviously surprised.

Anna smiled, Castiel would be hard to lie to about how she came back to her body so she decided to just be vague, "It was destroyed, I know. But I guess I'm sentimental. I called in some old favors."

"You shouldn't be here," Castiel warned abruptly. "We still have orders to kill you."

"Somehow I don't think you'll try. Where is Uriel?" she asked him. She thought Uriel would try, and she didn't think she could keep Castiel from assisting him.

"He went to receive revelation," Castiel advised her.

"Right," Anna said, not disguising the doubt in her voice. So Uriel was receiving and handing out the orders now, he had her old job. And he was the one who demanded Dean break Alastair. "Why are you letting Dean do this?" Anna asked. Obviously Castiel was uncomfortable with the situation.

"He's doing God's work," Castiel answered.

"Torturing? That's God's work?" Anna searched his face and to plead with the part of him that loved humanity she decided to use his nickname. "Stop him, Cas, please. Before you ruin the one real weapon you have."

Castiel seemed to struggle before asking, "Who are we to question the will of God?"

And Anna could hardly keep herself from smiling when she told him, "Unless this isn't his will."

She met his eyes and continued to look serious. She didn't not take any joy in planting seeds of doubt in her old comrade, however she was doing this to save Castiel, Dean, all of them.

"Then where do the orders come from?" Castiel asked her.

"I don't know. One of our superiors, maybe, but not him," Anna answered. "What you're feeling? It's called doubt." Compassionately she touched Castiel's hand. She felt that she was getting through to him, about to have another ally other than Lady. "These orders are wrong and you know it. But you can do the right thing. You're afraid, Cas. I was too. But together, we can still…"

Castiel snarled, "Together?" He pulled away from her in disgust. "I am nothing like you. You fell." For a moment he seemed unsure what to do, kill her or just turn his back on her. Defeated he looked away, "Go."

"Cas…" Anna pleaded.

"Go," he ordered one final time, his hand shifting to his trench coat where she was sure he had an angel sword.

Anna gauged her chances carefully, and retreated. Now that Castiel was alert for her she couldn't get very close again, but she wouldn't be far, either.

**Wyoming**

Lady was relieved when she got into the driver's seat of the Cobalt. The engine came to life without sputtering, the heater began pushing out air, and Lady took a moment to revel in the fact that she was back in a country that spoke English and drove on the right side of the road. Being back in her car also meant she got her spell ingredients, completed gris-gris bags, her clothes, and make-up all back. Some of the items were trivial, but having them back meant she didn't have to go out to acquire them again. For once since waking back up she felt like she hadn't been knocked back to square one.

As the car warmed up Lady stepped outside and opened the trunk to get some clean clothes. In her trunk had been a shotgun and ammo, a large bag of rock salt, several canisters of table salt, carefully organized jars of delicate ingredients, several bags of poorly organized ingredients that could handle being crushed or bounced around, and then a duffel bag of clothes and toiletries. She remembered packing the trunk precisely so there was room for everything plus a body if the need came up. Spending time on the road with Dean and Sam had worn off on her, their almost military organization was very efficient. But an unfamiliar canvas bag was sitting in the middle of the trunk, throwing off the feng shui and sending the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up.

Lady took only a moment to try and remember if she had taken a canvas bag during her short time in Wyoming a week ago, but she knew she hadn't. That meant that someone put it in her car. Curiosity overcame her and she unzipped the bag. Inside were clothes, toiletries, and make-up she remembered buying over a month ago in Washington where there had been a working wishing well. When Dean had made a wish that she was there with him and like magic she was.

Lady grabbed the bag and took it into the warmth of the car, and then anxiously looked around for signs that Dean was there. There was no doubt in her mind that Dean had put the bag in the trunk of her car, but she didn't know how long ago that could have been. And now that she knew he had found her car she noticed other small signs she hadn't noticed before. How her gas tank was full, when she had left it had been half-empty. The miles were reset for the oil change. It was on a different radio channel. And the smell of gun powder which saturated the Impala had transferred onto the bag.

Next Lady had to wonder just how Dean had found her car. Even if they had turned up in the same town together there was now way he could know this was her car, unless he had seen her. And she certainly hadn't seen him, though she was desperate to.

Slowly Lady began to go through the items in the bag. That had been the last time she saw Dean, he left her in the car while he went to rescue a group of boys trapped in an SUV that were being threatened by a super-powered boy. Last time she saw Sam he had been struck by lightening. She knew they were both okay, but she missed her boys very much. So much it hurt.

The outside pocket of the bag had a few hundred dollars in cash and a postcard from the Spurs Motel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In Dean's heavy handwriting it said, '_Fueled up your piece of crap car. Changed the oil and tuned it up. Here is some cash to get you out of town. Call me – Dean.'_

Lady held the card tightly. Halfway across the world while she was writing her coded letter to Bobby here Dean had been doing the same thing for her. The question of just how he had found her car to begin with burned in her brain. She could call him and ask, but that felt dangerous and risky, she had to be careful so Anna didn't decide to just drop her on Antarctica next.

Lady tried to think of some way she could tell Dean thanks, the extra cash and having a nicely running car were a good start for her. But at the same time the short letter was disappointing. This whole time she'd give anything to hear what they were doing and all she got were three sentences? She imagined that Dean was either trying to be vague in case someone intercepted the letter, or holding back because Lady could barely read English and he could barely write Latin. But she had a feeling it was because Dean was about as good at expressing his thoughts with words as she was. Sure, she could tell him that she missed him and loved him, but she only knew how to express how deeply those emotions were by getting her hands on Dean and really showing him. What Dean had done with her car were a few little things he did to show how he felt. Lady could only guess what he, and the rest of her family, were going through while she was on the run. She knew they worried, and she knew that Dean in particular would have a hard time being out of the loop. Not knowing if she would ever even return to her car to read his letter was probably driving him mad.

Lady found one of her prepaid cell phones in the glove compartment and powered it on. She dialed the number to one of Dean's prepaid phones, he had several but she only had one number written down. For weeks she had resisted the urge to call, but now she listened to it ringing. She had to tell him she got back to her car, and had to ask him how he had found her to begin with.

The phone rang, and rang, and finally his voicemail picked up. "This is Dean's voice mail, you know what to do," ordered his recorded voice. There was a beep, but Lady hung up without saying anything. She redialed, it rang again, and again the voice mail picked up. "Answer your phone, dumb ass!" She barked angrily. She'd been on the run for weeks, she really couldn't risk calling him over and over. She could hope he was screening his calls, or busy, a number of things. But she began to worry about him as well.

Lady looked at the card he had written on, from a motel that said it was on South I-25. Lady thought Cheyenne was just a few hours away, and the slim chance that the brothers were still there, or maybe Dean was giving her a clue to somewhere she should go…well, she knew she really shouldn't, but she couldn't help herself anymore. Something inside her told her that she had to see him, and Sam, too. That if she didn't something bad would happen, she'd go crazy. She put the car into gear and headed to the Interstate, desperate to see her boys and see that they were okay.

As she drove toward Cheyenne she tried a few more times to call Dean's cell phone, but left no more messages. Halfway there her paranoia began to really set in, she wondered if it hadn't been a trap left by Alastair's demon henchmen, or Lilith herself. She threw her own cell phone out the window of her moving car and felt a nervous sweat prickle over her body. There was no thought of turning back, though. The chance of seeing a familiar face was what she held onto.

Lady pulled into the Spurs Motel, a cheap motel with a dated cowboy theme. She parked near the office and looked down the line of rooms, she didn't see Dean's car but that didn't mean they weren't there. She went into the office and rang the bell. A sleepy clerk came up from the back. "Single or double?" he asked her.

"I'm here looking for someone," Lady said. "Two people, actually. I was supposed to meet them here but I don't see their car. And old Chevy Impala, black muscle car. Uh, two guys in their twenties. One really tall and shaggy, the other tall with a clean cut."

"What's the name?" the guy asked.

Lady frowned, she had no clue what alias either of them were using at the moment. She could rattle off a handful of names they had used in the past, but that just seemed weird. "Please, think. One is like six and a half feet tall, really hard to miss."

"Uh, yeah, they left just an hour or two ago," the guy said. "Was in a hurry, too." He looked down at his register and said, "Room was for Dean Winchester, hasn't checked out yet."

Lady looked at the man with wide eyes, surprised Dean had used his real name. But he would have known she'd be clueless to any random alias he may be using. It had been nearly a year since Sam and Dean Winchester supposedly died in Colorado while in police custody, writing it down on a motel register was a reasonable risk if it meant giving Lady a trail to follow.

"Yeah, that's my boyfriend. And his brother, Sam, was with him," Lady said, feel confidence build in her. She flashed the man a pretty smile and shook her hair from her forehead. It wasn't long enough to flip yet, but she was letting it grow out. With a little work she could manage a rather cute pixi hairdo, though it was getting almost too long to pull that off. "I'd really love to surprise them, can I get the key to their room?"

The man looked hesitant, "Really not supposed to, ma'am…"

Lady batted her eyelashes and leaned forward, giving him a chance to look down her shirt and distract him, "Please? I haven't seen them in a while and it'd be such a fun surprise for them if I was there when they got back. I'd really hate to have to wait in my cold car." She topped it all off with a cute pout.

The man visibly broke down under her girlish charm. "Alright, you see to know them. Room six."

"Thanks, you are the best," Lady took the key he offered her. Unable to help herself she strut out, grinning wide and feeling very satisfied that she hadn't lost her touch after being out of the game so long.

She let herself into room six, and stood at the doorway for a few moments when the smell of sulfur reached her nostrils. Her future-sight didn't show any immediate danger, but she entered the room cautiously and immediately lined the door with salt. A quick look she saw the room was lived in, take-out containers and one of their toiletry bags left in the bathroom. The smell of Sam's feet lingered, possibly a pair of forgotten socks had ended up under the bed as well. It was hard to tell if they had abandoned the room, or if they would be coming back soon.

What troubled her most was the smell of sulfur. Had demons been there? Would they be coming back? She worked quickly to check the room for anything Dean may have left intentionally for her. On the nightstand between the beds was a newspaper, opened and folded to the obituaries. Dean liked looking at obituaries and finding odd deaths. Most men would pick up a newspaper and go to the Sports section, but Dean went straight for the obits every time. Since Lady had trouble reading, and newspapers were especially unfriendly to her dyslexia, she usually didn't pick them up. However she saw Pamela Barnes' photo. In disbelief Lady stared at it for several moments before working to read the words. Pamela had been murdered in Greybull the same day Lady had been there, and her funeral had been earlier that day.

Lady had met Pamela a few years prior when she helped Lady work a ritual. A few times she had called Pamela, but while she had liked the psychic they weren't really close friends. They didn't keep in touch or really know what each other were doing. But Lady did know that Pamela had been a frequent visitor to her while she was in the mental facility, that until Pamela lost her eyesight her visits had been almost daily to monitor Lady's mental abilities in ways the doctors could not. Pamela had helped her without asking for anything. Unfortunately Lady would never get a chance to repay her.

Lady folded the newspaper and tucked it unto her jacket, she wanted to read the whole obituary but she needed to finish checking the room. She looked under pillows and blankets, found a pair of Sam's dirty socks, and then noticed a small scrap of paper remaining on the table. The paper had burned edges, but it was easy to see it was part of a map. Looking at its size she figured it was a map of the country, and the part remaining had Lincoln, Nebraska. Immediately Lady realized the piece of paper was the remains of a tracking spell. And she noticed the smell of sulfur was strongest around the table as well.

"Anna, Anna I need you to come here," Lady said aloud, hoping Anna was paying attention to her. She wasn't quite clear how the angel's abilities worked but Anna had told her she could hear her prayers. "Anna, I need to talk to you. I think something happened."

Without warning, without disturbing anything in the room, Anna appeared just a few feet from Lady. "This probably isn't the safest place for you to be," Anna said disappointedly. "Why are you here, Lady?"

"I…okay I know I wasn't supposed to go looking for the Winchesters, but I had to. When I got here all I can smell is sulfur, they aren't here."

"The sulfur, that is from Ruby."

Lady's worry immediately vanished into fiery rage, "What? Ruby? She hasn't been barbecued by one of the damn angels yet? What the fuck is that? I show my face and I'm dead meat. That demonic whore can fucking tap dance with other angels and, what? Do they tip her afterward?"

"Your frustration is understood. But remember Ruby saved your life, and mine. For now please let's live and let live regarding her," Anna said. "Please, Lady, you need to let go of that anger because it is going to cloud your mind. And I may need you very soon."

Lady worked to push the thought of Ruby still spending time with Sam out of her head.

"Your instincts are good, there are concerns for Dean and Sam's safety," Anna said gently. "I wasn't going to tell you, I knew you would want to do anything you could to help them."

"Those two idiots are my family, of course I'm going to help them. What haven't you told me?" Lady asked, barely containing her anger.

"There is speculation that demons have been killing angels from my former garrison. There have been efforts to interrogate Alastair to find out if it is demons and how they are doing it, but they've been unable to get him to speak. Earlier this evening Castiel and Uriel abducted Dean and have asked him to torture Alastair."

Lady's eyes widened, "Angels support torture as an information gathering method? That's pretty screwed up."

"You are wiser than many of my brothers. Surely, it should be beneath angels to stoop to such low and vile means. Something like this can't make us any better than the demons. That's why I don't think these orders were given by an angel following God's way."

Lady narrowed her eyes at Anna. She was still pretty pissed, and Anna's calm way of speaking only seemed to make her temper flare more. But Lady was holding it in as she tried to wrap her mind around Dean's predicament. She had been told about what Dean had done in Hell, but she knew that she could never truly understand what hell was. Just like others could never understand what the spirit realm was. Unless you were there, experienced it, survived it, you just couldn't understand it. That was something she accepted. In her head she tried to imagine what Dean would do, how he would react, to being asked to recreate things he had done in hell to the demon who literally put him through hell. And she didn't like thinking about what that would do to Dean.

"Okay, we have to stop him. Get him out of there," Lady said.

"It's too late for that, he's been at it a few hours now," Anna said. "It is too dangerous for either of us to go to him, he has Castiel and Uriel watching him. For now we must wait and listen, hopefully Dean will break Alastair."

Lady gave Anna a hard stare, "No, I'm done waiting and listening. I'm done. I can't take it anymore. I'm going. If they kill me, they kill me. But I have to see him, I have to see for my own eyes that he is okay. And if he isn't…well I have to do what I can."

"I can't let you do that," Anna said.

"What are you going to do? Send me to Bumfuck, Egypt? Why even keep me alive to help, if all you are going to do is send me off to parts unknown? You either need to let me do things my way, or just kill me. What'll it be?"

"I know you are still upset about Greece but please understand this is your life at stake," Anna stressed.

"Yeah, my life. Let me live it," Lady said.

Anna did not hide her displeasure, "I can't let you continue on this path."

Lady had already weighed her options before calling on Anna, and had prepared herself in case she they couldn't come to an agreement. Lady couldn't stop herself from finding Dean and Sam. She needed to see they were okay, just as much as they had to see she was okay. It was a very real need for something familiar for her, and she felt like she couldn't survive without it. "I can't let you stop me," Lady said regretfully.

Anna hesitated slightly, arching a suspicious eyebrow, "What did have you done."

Lady shifted the curtain and revealed a banishing sigil draw in blood she had made before calling for Anna. She pressed her palm against it, activating it with additional blood on her hand. Blinding white light enveloped the whole room, along with a humming noise and Anna's angry screams of protest.

"Sorry, Anna," Lady uttered once it was gone, and meant it. The sigil cast the angel away and would leave them weak for some time, preventing them from coming back immediately. There was no way of telling if that meant five minutes or five hours. In a rush she left the motel room and got in her car, on her way to Lincoln, Nebraska to find the Winchesters.

**A/N-** _Happy holidays everyone! I am very sorry it has taken two months for an update. Overall I've just been distracted. I have been writing about Lady for over two years and I've sort of lost my steam. But that doesn't mean I've stopped writing! I promise I will finish the story up to the end of season 5. But a chapter a week just isn't happening lately. But my sincere apologies, I greatly appreciate everyone who reads and reviews. And as a reader myself I loathe having to wait for a story I'm reading to be finished, I wish I could write them much faster but I think they are better for the waiting. Thank you for reading!_


	17. Head of a Pin, Part 2, Dec 2008

From a great distance the angel Uriel was monitoring Dean as he tortured Alastair. Castiel was in the warehouse, though in a different room. The devil's trap was well made, the type of craftsmanship one would expect from an Angel of the Lord. Castiel and Dean were both oblivious to the steady drip of water that was wearing away the drawing on the floor, though Alastair noticed and patiently waited until the devil's trap became broken. Happily taunting Dean, reminding him of the time they spent in hell, even throwing in a few comments on his father John's time in hell.

Alastair became free of the devil's trap, and Uriel made no move to recapture him. Instead he kept on with his monitoring, what was one more dead human? In fact, he was going to be glad to be rid of Dean. But Alastair didn't go right for the kill, the demon grabbed Dean and played with him, like a cat with a mouse. Quickly injuring Dean, maybe fatally, and then holding him down while taunting him with the knowledge that Dean broke the first seal which set off the whole apocalypse. As Alastair enjoyed the pain Dean was in Castiel came to the rescue, attempting to kill Alastair with the demon-killing knife which didn't work. Alastair went toe-to-toe with Castiel, quickly gaining the upper hand and beginning to recite a ritual in Enochian. The ritual was somewhat like an exorcism, but for Angels. It would eject the angel from its vessel, and once the vessel is empty it could be torn apart and made unusable. Unfortunately for Castiel he would have to find a new vessel, if one was available.

But before Alastair could complete it Sam Winchester arrived. More powerful than he had been before Sam assaulted the seemingly invincible demon, inflicting more pain on it in seconds than Dean had managed to do during hours of torture. Alastair confessed that demons weren't killing the angels as they had been accused, and then begged to be sent back to hell. Instead of excising the demon Sam killed him, snuffing out the demon's existence with a thought.

Once Alastair was dealt with Sam went to his brother's side. Dean was out cold, blood leaking from his nose and mouth. Castiel walked weakly to him and placed a hand on his forehead, attempting to heal the wounds. But nothing happened, and Castiel fell to his knees. Though Alastair had been unsuccessful in ejecting him from his vessel damage had been done. It was only a matter of time before Castiel would be back to normal, but right that instant he was unable to heal Dean. Instead he helped Sam get him to the car, and Sam raced to the hospital.

**December 28, 2008**

**Lincoln, Nebraska**

Lady arrived in town shortly before dawn. The map fragment she had didn't give a precise location so she was unsure where to go. She could guess that since Ruby was still playing the buddy-demon that she was also providing the brothers with hex bags to cloak them. However Lady used to make them as well, and had what she needed to rig a old and slightly unreliable tracking spell as well.

She opened her trunk and gathered what she needed. Combining a few mild ingredients, hairs from the motel sink where one or both of the brothers had shaved, and a drop of her own blood. It was old folk magic that had been used to find children who had gotten lost, it had a very short range of maybe a mile, and though Lady had never tried it against demonic magic she didn't recognize anything from the hex bags that would block the search. She bundled the mixture within the scrap of paper that she had taken from the motel room, hoping residual magic from Ruby's spell would help her own, and tied it up with a long piece of string. She then tied it to her rear view mirror and drove around, watching it sway. Sooner than she expected the magical bundle reacted and spun in a circle and tilted to the south. Following it's guidance she drove in the direction it pointed her, and when she saw bright lit signs for a hospital her stomach dropped.

Lady had always followed her gut instincts. Sure, sometimes they were wrong, but she accepted that possibility rather than living in regret. Even before she was psychic she had relied on instincts. If something didn't feel right, it probably wasn't. It was why she banished Anna, and risked her own life in order to see Dean and Sam. She felt like she had to, that something was wrong. She was willing to accept it was her own loneliness driving her to feel that way, as long as she got some sort of satisfaction in seeing them.

Lady found a parking spot and walked toward the Emergency Room doors. She stopped when she saw people inside, nurses and patients. Her heart jumped into her throat, a surge of panic she quickly fought back. Hospitals freaked her the fuck out, and she had suffered through many injuries on her own or with Bobby's care instead of visiting a doctor. But she made herself walk through the doors, taking shallow breaths through her mouth to avoid the trademark hospital stench. It didn't take her long at all to find Sam, pacing back and forth in the waiting room.

Sam stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief when he saw Lady. Her shoulders were tense and high, her eyes darting around back and forth, landing on him then drifting suspiciously to another person or spot on the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Sam blurted out.

Lady made an effort to focus on him, "I had to see you guys. Dean wasn't answering his phone. Where…is he…?"

"He's in surgery," Sam answered, straightening so he towered his full foot taller than her. "Where have you been?"

"What happened, why is he in surgery? Is he going to be okay?" Lady ignored his question.

Sam took an angry step toward her, "Where have you been, Lady? Why haven't you been checking in with us? Or Bobby? Or anyone?"

Lady's eyes widened at the unexpected anger. "Uh, hello? I'm the secret ingredient in a spell to help demons break apocalyptic seals and release Lucifer, I'm trying to keep a low profile, thank you very much."

"Low profile? Crashing Alastair's solstice ritual is low profile?" Sam argued.

Lady looked at him with surprise, "You guys heard about that?"

"Heard about it? Lady, we were there. You just couldn't see us," Sam barked at her. "Angels captured Alastair then sent Dean to torture him for information. Instead Alastair nearly painted the walls with him. I don't know if he'll make it or not."

Lady lost her ability to speak, and could only stand there staring at Sam in shock. Little by little Sam lost his anger, and stepped forward to pull Lady into his arms. She held onto him tightly. "I'm glad you are here," Sam managed to say.

The two sat down. Sam told Lady about what happened in Greybull that she didn't see, and how it ended with Pamela's death. Lady told him she had been exiled to Greece for a week, that she had been out of the loop.

"So, Anna is an angel again?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Guess you could say she got some wings but still no halo. Other angels have orders to kill her on sight."

"Where is she now?" Sam asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," Lady admitted, but left out the part where she had banished the angel herself.

"Shouldn't she be watching you? I mean, Castiel and Uriel were nearby, they both have orders to kill you," Sam reminded her. "As much as I want you here…you aren't any good to us dead."

Lady debated on her ability to banish another angel like she had Anna. Completing the simple ritual again would only take a minute, there was no doubt in her mind she could do it again. Maybe it wasn't a perfect plan, but it was good enough for her. "I can manage. I can't just leave, not when Dean is like this." Lady took in a breath, her worry over Dean kept her centered and helped her ignore her unease over being in a hospital. "So talk to me, how is everything going?" Lady asked as her hand idly traced a seam in the cheap couch.

"Other than Lilith winning? Not so great," Sam said hotly. He shifted, appearing agitated and worked up. Then worked hard to appear calm. "You know she's more than halfway there?"

"Yeah, I got that news brief. But I also know that she's running out of seals she can break. There are over six hundred, but the information on so many of them has been lost that…well…" Lady huffed a breath.

"That just means she's going to work twice as hard to find you, isn't she?" Sam guessed.

"Let's be optimistic, she might just give up!" Lady said brightly.

Sam didn't look amused at all. "Stop making jokes about this. You know while you were, wherever the hell you have been, Dean and I have been working, fighting."

"Hey, I haven't been living it up if that's what you think," Lady got on the defensive.

"What have you been doing, Lady?" Sam demanded to know. "Because it seems if things are really so dangerous for you then maybe you should be in Bobby's panic room instead of hanging out with a rogue angel with a bounty on her head and going after Seals and sticking your neck into a demon ritual."

"How was I supposed to know you two _idiots_ were parading around as spirits?" Lady said defensively.

"You know how long we've been waiting just to hear if you are alive or dead?" Sam threw in the guilt trip.

"I…sent a postcard…" Lady fumbled. "It might still be in Greece I really don't know how overseas mail works…"

"Really? One postcard in almost two months? That's keeping us informed," Sam snarled.

"What is wrong with you?" Lady asked, narrowing her eyes on him. Though her and Sam had their share of arguments, something about it felt different. And as she thought about it she realized something about Sam seemed different.

Immediately Sam recognized that Lady was sizing him up. At times Lady could surprise him with her observational skills, she was sharp and much smarter than she wanted others to believe. Sam became afraid that at any moment Lady would come to the conclusion of what he had been doing, how he had killed Alastair, and what he had been doing with Ruby. But before she could come to any conclusions a doctor in blue scrubs came up. "Mr. Young? Your brother is out of surgery."

Sam stood up, "Dean? Is he okay?"

"He isn't out of the woods yet, he'll need to spend the next few days in the intensive care unit. We managed to stop the internal bleeding, and repair a punctured lung. He'll need more surgeries in the future, but we'll discuss that later after we see his progress."

"Can we see him?" Sam asked.

"Of course," the doctor said, motioning for them to follow.

Dean had a long list of injuries, a broken hip, shattered wrist, punctured lung, broken ribs, ruptured spleen, he was beyond lucky to be alive. Sam had taken him into the hospital under the excuse that he'd been hit by a car, and no doctor had questioned that. He was wrapped in bandages and connected to tubes and wires.

"How did this happen?" Lady asked.

"The Angels had put Alastair in a devil's trap, and it fell apart. Once that happened Alastair just went to town. If I had been just a minute later he would have finished the job," Sam said.

Lady folded her arms across her chest and clenched her hands into fists under her armpits. Dean looked broken and fragile, and being in the hospital was making her feel sick to her stomach. But she would tolerate it for Dean.

Sam and Lady both heard the softest flutter of wings and approaching footsteps in the hallway. "Be quiet, and hide," Sam ordered, grabbing Lady and giving her a push into the bathroom.

Outside of the hospital room Castiel was there, having arrived to check on Dean.

"Sam," Castiel acknowledged him when Sam stepped up to him.

"Get in there and heal him," Sam demanded. "Now."

Castiel looked ashamed, "I cannot. Alastair injured me I am too weak to manage such a miracle."

"You and Uriel put him in there because you can't keep a simple devil's trap together!"

"I don't know what happened. That trap...it shouldn't have broken. I am sorry," Castiel said.

"This whole thing was pointless. You understand that? The demons aren't doing the hits. Something else is killing your soldiers."

"Perhaps Alastair was lying," Castiel countered.

"No, he wasn't," Sam said, fully confident that no one, not even a demon as powerful as Alastair, could have lied with the sort of pain he inflicted on it.

Castiel looked down, "I will return, I promise."

"You better hope he doesn't die in the meantime," Sam said in a threat.

Sam went back into the room and after hearing the departure of Castiel he opened the bathroom door for Lady, "Should be clear," he said.

"Good, thanks," she said, her shoulders falling when her future-sight told her what Sam was about to say.

"You need to get out of here," Sam said aloud.

Lady shook her head, "I can't leave. Not when he is like this. I felt it in my gut that something was wrong, but I wasn't fast enough. I…"

"Castiel and Uriel will kill you," Sam warned her. "And they will come back. They might even be watching right now."

"I don't care," Lady said sadly.

Sam dug in his pocket and offered Lady his cell phone, "Take this, and leave. Stay close if you want, but you got to get some distance. I'll call you when he's OK. Just, here isn't safe."

Lady hated walking away, but Sam was big enough to make her leave if he wanted to. She took the phone and put it in her pocket. "Sam, I…listen I don't know when I'll get a chance to see you again. Just in case, you know I'm sorry, right?"

Sam looked at her with wide eyes, surprised that Lady was apologizing. Before Dean died they had been very close, she was like his sister. But after Dean died they just grew further and further apart. And neither of them had been emotionally strong enough to fix it then. But things were quite different now, they had Dean back and a new mess of problems. "Yeah, its okay, Lady," Sam answered her. "Me, too."

Lady let out an uncomfortable breath, relieved the uncomfortable apology came and went without starting up an old fight. "Be careful, Sam." She pulled him into a tight hug and added, "If I don't hear from you in a few hours I'm coming back here to put my boot up your ass."

Sam couldn't laugh, too exhausted and worried to find anything funny. Instead he said, "Okay, just watch out for yourself."

XXXXX

Uriel sat under a chilly winter sun, looking at a cheerful children's playground. This skin of his vessel felt the cold, but it didn't bother him at all. After Alastair was killed Uriel needed a reason for being unavailable to assist Castiel and Dean, and his excuse was that he was receiving orders.

"Castiel, I received revelation from our superiors. Our brothers and sisters are dying and they…they want us to stop hunting the demon responsible," Uriel said. Castiel sat next to him on the park bench. He could feel the injuries his brother had suffered by Alastair, nothing fatal to an angel but it would have weakened him. "Something is wrong up there. I mean, can you feel it?"

"The murders. Maybe they aren't demonic. Sam Winchester said the demons had nothing to do with it," Castiel said.

"If not the demons, what could it be?" Uriel questioned him.

"The will of heaven. We are failing, Uriel. We are losing the war. Perhaps the garrison is being punished." Castiel said mournfully. "I think maybe our father isn't giving the orders anymore. Maybe there is something wrong."

Uriel stood up, "Maybe there is. And I for one won't wait to be gutted."

Uriel tapped into his grace, his angelic power, and vanished from the park. He needed quiet and privacy to think, to plan. So far his plan hadn't worked well at all. Alastair was supposed to kill Dean and run, instead Alastiar was dead and Dean was still breathing. Though he could very easily fix that, and no one would know he had even been involved. Losing Dean, the great beacon of hope, would only serve to help him. As he thought about how it could be accomplished and the possibilities he extended his awareness to the hospital where Dean was being treated. With a soft shift of his power he appeared outside the hospital. He put his hands in his jacket pockets and walked casually down the sidewalk, measuring the risk and the reward of what he was thinking about. And as he did so he witnessed Lady walking across the street. Her magical gris-gris bag made her all but invisible to his power, however his human-vessel eyes saw her and recognized her. He smiled, knowing faith had shined on him and showed him what he truly had to do.

Lady reached her car but paused before opening the door. Her back tensed and she turned around just in time to see Uriel reach her. Her hand went to the angel-sword concealed within her jacket, but Uriel was much faster. He smiled at the fear in her eyes, "I know some people who have been looking for you," he chuckled, and touched her forehead. Her eyes closed and her body went limp.

XXXXX

Anna watched from a distance. Uriel vanished with Lady, keeping her hidden but safe. To the best of her knowledge the angel orders were to dispose of Lady and any other potential Eye of the Seers there could be. Uriel was efficient, he would have snapped her neck and be done with it. The only reason Anna could think of for him to keep Lady alive was to hand her over to demons.

"Anna. Anna, please," a voice called to her.

A string of energy brought the voice to her and she followed it back to its owner, finding Castiel in an isolated part of the cliffs and mountains. She made herself visible to him, "Decided to kill me after all?"

"I'm alone," Castiel said.

"What do you want from me, Castiel?"

"I'm considering disobedience," Castiel looked at her with wide blue eyes.

Anna nodded, containing her joy at hearing those words. Castiel was her brother, and had a good heart. She could use a good ally like him, especially if she would be against Uriel to save Lady. "Good."

"No, it isn't. For the first time, I feel..." Castiel made a pained face.

"It gets worse. Choosing your own course of action is confusing, terrifying," she warned him. Almost happily she put her hand on his shoulder, but her happiness faded when he looked at her touching him. She took her hand back, "That's right. You're too good for my help. I'm just trash. A walking blasphemy."

"Anna, wait," Castiel called her back.

"I don't know what to do. Please tell me what to do," he pleaded.

"Like the old days?" Anna smiled slightly, feeling nostalgic herself. It was clear to her then that it was important Castiel find his own path, just like she had found hers. She would hope it aligned with hers in the future, but she should not influence him while he was weak and confused or he would not trust her afterward. "No. I'm sorry. It's time to think for yourself."


	18. Head of a Pin, Part 3, Dec 2008

Castiel was left to handle his turmoil alone. But he was not some meek human, he was still a warrior of God. Instead of crawling under a rock he went back to the warehouse. There he discovered how Alastair had escaped, the dripping water from the pipe. He stopped the water and thought about how Alastair had managed that. And he found no possible way. The devil's trap would not have allowed Alastair to use any demonic magic, he had made sure of it to ensure Dean was as safe as possible when in the same room. Nothing else could have gotten in there, only other angels.

And the realization hit Castiel like a ton of bricks. Another angel. His first thought was Anna, the rogue angel he was supposed to kill. But quickly he remembered the special compassion she had for humans, much greater now that she had been one herself. Anna was disobedient, but she did not want Alastair free or Dean dead or the apocalypse to happen. Castiel had faith in that.

But then the only other angel that had been there was Uriel. Uriel had always been a good soldier, had helped Castiel many times…but he didn't care for humans. Could it be?

"Uriel," Castiel said out loud, putting a little power behind his voice to ensure it carried over the celestial waves to reach Uriel.

Only seconds later he appeared in the same room. "You called?"

Castiel slowly turned to face his brother and only looked at him, wondering if Uriel could truly be responsible. "Strange how a leaky pipe can undo the work of angels when we ourselves are supposed to be the agents of fate," Castiel watched his brother closely.

"Alastair was much more powerful than we had imagined," Uriel attempted to dodge the topic and sweep it under the rug.

"No. No demon can overpower that trap. I made it myself," Castiel said with certaintly. He looked Uriel in the eyes and made a strong stance. "We've been friends for a long time, Uriel. Fought by each other's sides, served together away from home, for what seems like forever. We're brothers, Uriel. Pay me that respect. Tell me the truth."

Uriel nodded in acceptance, realizing he was done fooling Castiel. "The truth is, the only thing that can kill an angel, is another angel." From his sleeve an angel sword fell into his hand, ready for use.

"You?" Castiel looked at the gleaming sword that had been responsible for the deaths of his kin, and back to his brother.

"I'm afraid so," Uriel confessed.

"And you broke the devil's trap, set Alastair on Dean," Castiel asked for confirmation.

"Alastair should never have been taken alive. Really inconvenient, Castiel. Yes, I did turn the screw a little. Alastair should have killed Dean and escaped, and you should have gone on happily scapegoating the demons," Uriel explained.

"For the murders of our kin?" Castiel asked angrily.

"Not murders, Castiel. No. My work is conversion. How long have we waited here? How long have we played this game by rules that make no sense?"

"It is our father's world, Uriel."

"Our father? He stopped being that, if he ever was, the moment he created them. Humanity, his favorites. This whining, puking larva," Uriel spat.

"Are you trying to convert me?"

"I wanted you to join me. And I still do. With you, we can be powerful enough to raise our brother," Uriel said, pleading with Castiel.

"Lucifer," Castiel realized.

"You do remember him? How strong he was? How beautiful? And he didn't bow to humanity. He was punished for defending us. Now, if you want to believe in something, Castiel, believe in him," Uriel persuaded.

"Lucifer is not God."

"God isn't God anymore. He doesn't care what we do. I am proof of that."

"But this? What were you gonna do, Uriel? Were you gonna kill the whole garrison?"

"I only killed the ones who said no. Others have joined me, Cas. Now, please, brother, don't fight me. Help me. Help me spread the word. Help me bring on the apocalypse. All you have to do is be unafraid."

"For the first time in a long time, I am," Castiel said. And threw the first punch at Uriel.

XXXXX

In the wings Anna watched a deadly fight between her brothers. Castiel, still weak from fighting Alastair, quickly began to lose. The walls around them became demolished, their human vessels battered. Castiel went down to his knees, nearly spent. "You can't win, Uriel. I still serve God."

"You haven't even met the man. There is no will. No wrath. No God!" Uriel cried out.

Uriel pummeled Castiel a few last times. Anna arrived into the room unnoticed, taking her angel-sword and spearing Uriel through the neck in order to save Castiel. Uriel's vessel stiffened as he was mortally wounded. "Maybe there is no god, but there's still me," Anna hissed in his ear before letting his body fall.

Castiel watched Uriel's grace explode from his vessel, and felt the passing of his brother. Anna helped him to his feet and gently she straightened his coat. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"No, not really," Castiel answered. "There are others like him, he convinced others. We have our own angels fighting us to start the apocalypse. How can we win?"

"The odds are stacked against us, aren't they?" Anna agreed glumly. "But we still have a chance, Castiel."

Anna took Castiel's hand, and transported them. When they arrived in a new area Castiel had taken the time to clean himself up and fix his appearance. In the new room, it appeared to be a nicely kept hotel, Lady was still unconscious and protected from being found by angel warding sigils drawn on the walls.

"Uriel found her and put her here, I suspect to keep her alive until he could find a way to dump her in the laps of demons," Anna said.

"The Seer," Castiel said, looking down. "Anna, we can't keep her alive."

"She is important. I know you feel it, too. She was able to see the grace of Lucifer without having her head explode, she's special."

"And mystical, and dangerous," Castiel reminded her.

"Cas, trust me," Anna said, now that she had saved his life she had no fear of asking that of her. "To stop the apocalypse, to stop Lucifer, we need her. Please?"

Castiel nodded, and gently touched Lady's shoulder.

With a jerk Lady woke up, and looked at the two angels with wide eyes. "It's okay, you are safe," Anna assured her.

Lady then looked around, "Safe and looks like I'm moving on up. Where am I?"

"I'll explain everything, but we should leave here first," Anna said, offering Lady her hand.

XXXXX

Lady sat on top of a roof, somewhere in New Mexico, as Anna told her the events that happened. Anna finished with, "Castiel will heal Dean once he is strong enough, which should be soon."

"Sorry I…I fucked up," Lady said. How close she had been to failing, to helping tip the odds even more in the demon's favor, had been far too close for comfort. She had been aware of the risk, and had only the weakest plan in place to protect herself. It obviously hadn't been enough.

"You are human, you are driven by more than logic. I understand your desire to be with the man you love," Anna said. "I won't try to stop you, not anymore. In a way your recklessness helped uncover Uriel's treachery."

Lady smiled slightly, "I have crazy luck like that sometimes." More seriously she asked, "So, can I go back to see Dean and Sam now?"

Anna looked hesitant before answering, "Sure."

With a touch of Anna's hand Lady was back in the hospital. Sam was still in the waiting room, sleeping on a couch with his feet hanging off the edge. Lady left him, and went down the hall to Dean's room. The breathing tube had been removed and he seemed to be connected to fewer machines.

Drunkenly Dean began to open his eyes and look around. Lady moved close to the edge of the bed, being every so careful not to touch any of the tubes or wires or IVs that were attached to him. "Hey, you with me?" she asked shakily.

For several moments he didn't say anything, but finally managed to rasp, "Are you really here?"

"Yeah, yeah, I really am," she said. Feeling a bit more brave in the hospital room she slid her hand into his and leaned against the bed. "I came to say thanks for working on my car."

Dean's eyes lost focus and wandered for a while, and maybe he even forgot she was there when his face pulled into a grimace of pain. But when the grimace faded his eyes found her again, more alert as the fog of a coma, brain damage, and drugs began to lift. "Lady, what are you doing here?"

She smiled as much as she could, "Someone has to give you a sponge bath, right?" Dean didn't take the joke, so she told him seriously, "It's okay, really. I can't stay much longer, but I needed to see you. I can't tell you how much I've missed you."

"I was so scared you were dead," he said roughly, his fingers holding onto her hand more tightly. "We were there, when Alastair caught you, and…"

"I know, I know," Lady kept him from telling the story she had already heard from Sam. She held his hand with both of hers. "Sam told me what happened in Greybull. It's okay, I'm okay. I got out by the skin of my teeth and Anna's wing, but I got out just fine."

"Sam…where is Sam?" Dean asked.

"He's here, he's out in the waiting room. You've been here about two days now, maybe longer I'm not quite sure," Lady said. "He's fine, not a scratch on him."

"Not even from you?" Dean asked.

Lady bit back a smile, "I restrained myself."

Dean went to move, but Lady's future sight warned her of the imminent shout of pain that would be coming. She put her hands on his shoulders, "Don't," she said. "You really don't want to move around."

But it was too late; Dean laid back and grimaced in extreme pain. Lady hit the nurse button repeatedly. A nurse came in and examined a few IV bags still connected to Dean. Then brought out a long needle of morphine to inject. Lady stared, wide-eyed, at the little drip of liquid that squeezed out of the end. A sweat prickled over her skin, her heart thumped in her chest, her head felt airy and light.

With effort she looked away before she could see the needle pierce skin, she may have thrown up or fainted if she saw that. Instead she redirected her attention to Dean, she only got this short time with him. "Is that better?" she asked him.

"Not really," he grimaced.

"Give it a minute or two," the nurse said as she walked out.

"You look worse than me," Dean commented on her sweaty face and pale lips, an after-effect of her phobia of needles.

Lady's face broke out in a smile, "Did I mention I missed you so much?"

For a minute she forgot where she was, and why she was there, and leaned forward to kiss him. Her arm curled around his head and her fingers worked into his short hair while her lips moved against his. Her nose touched the oxygen tube that went into his nostrils, making her pull back in fear that she'd do something to make him worse.

With the haze of morphine beginning to hit him he asked, "Are you leaving again?"

"I'm going to stay here as long as I can," Lady said.

"Babe…I'm so sorry," Dean said roughly, looking at her and trying to keep his focus as strong drugs kicked in. "It was all my fault. I started all of this, it was me."

"What was?" Lady asked.

"I started it, and…and…how did Sam kill him?" Dean asked.

"Alastair?" Lady guessed. "With the knife?"

"Knife…knife doesn't work…" Dean's head fell back and he fought to stay conscious, but the morphine finally knocked him out.

Lady sat by his bed. She was unsure how much time went by when Sam walked in. "You came back?" he asked.

"You missed out on quite a bit," she said quietly. "It's okay if I stay…for a little longer at least."

"We woke up for a while earlier," Sam told her. "Not making much sense, though."

"Yeah, he was awake for me a bit, too," Lady said.

"Lady, I am sorry," Sam said, looking her straight on. "Things…they haven't been easy. When we first got here I was all over the place, I didn't know if Dean would live or die…just, now I know he'll be okay and I'm looking back at it, and it was wrong of me. I'm so sorry, and…and I'm glad you came back. I'm glad you are here."

Lady studied his face, and Sam seemed genuine in his apology. "Sam, how did you kill Alastair?" she asked with an even tone, watching Sam's face change. It went to surprise at being called out, and she saw a silent struggle within him on if he should lie or be defensive. It was hard to catch a Winchester in a lie, lying was second nature to them. They lied to everyone, each other, and to themselves. Catching Sam wasn't easy, in some ways he was better at lying than Dean was.

Sam was caught off guard by the question. He had let his guard down for only a few minutes around Lady, someone he used to feel right at home around, and she had used that moment to strike. At first he was angry, ready to throw accusations back at her. Then he thought maybe he should dodge the question altogether. And then he tried to think of some lie to use. And then he realized he was caught. The look on Lady's face said she knew something was up, that she knew, and he doubted he could fool her right then.

But then Sam was saved, at that moment Castiel fluttered in. Lady stood up, ramrod straight, watching the angel with suspicion and fear. "Anna is waiting for you down the hall." Castiel announced. "So far no other angels have been dispatched, but it would be wise if you depart quickly."

Lady looked at Sam, without words she told him that it wasn't over. And then she looked back to Dean. For a moment Sam had a hard time being angry at her. Most of the time Lady guarded her emotions, but for a brief moment he could see everything she was going through. How she loved and missed Dean, the fear of the angel standing behind her, and her fatigue.

"Be safe, Lady," Sam offered to her as she left. Maybe their friendship was strained, but he wanted it to continue. He had to hope that when he killed Lilith and stopped the apocalypse that things could go back to how they were.

"You too, Sam," Lady said. She contemplated taking his hand or giving him a parting hug, but she decided against it. She was fantastic at holding grudges. It wasn't until the past few years that she really learned forgiveness. After a decade of running solo and keeping those closest to her as far away as possible, she finally embraced having a family. Sam and Dean were part of it for her, she'd kill or die for those idiots. Even though she sort of wanted to put him in a headlock herself, she'd still fight to the death for him. One day they could hope to work it out, clear the air, or something.

Lady left the room and walked down the hall to meet Anna. "Are you satisfied?" Anna asked.

Lady gave the angel a glare. Of course she wasn't satisfied. A satisfying meeting would have involved a long private night of nudity. "Can't I stay until after Cas fixes him up?"

Anna shook her head, "I think it is best if we leave for now. Castiel will let us know if it is safe to return."

Lady nodded in acceptance. Tiredly she walked down the stairs and out of the hospital, back to her car. Anna teleported to somewhere in the world, or somewhere in the atmosphere, Lady doubted she'd ever understand angelic abilities. Lady started up her car and just started driving, no particular destination in mind.

Anna had separated herself from the physical world, but still existed enough so she could watch over Castiel and Dean. She listened to Castiel explain how Alastair had escaped and that Uriel was now dead. And that Alastair had spoken the truth, that Dean had indeed broken the first seal.

Anna had heard rumors, however she was a human when Dean was rescued from hell so what she knew had been limited to what she accidentally overheard. She had never known the angel's plans for him, only rumors and educated guesses. And right then Castiel told Dean it was true, and that the angels had tried to stop him but were too late. By the time they reached him in hell Alastair had already broken him. Dean was devastated and disgusted with himself, and feeding on that misery asked Castiel why he wasn't just left in hell. And Castiel told him, "It's not blame that falls on you, Dean, it's fate. The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it. Our fate rests with you."

"Well, then you guys are screwed. I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not strong enough. Well, I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me," she heard Dean say.

XXXXX

Months ago when Castiel's garrison laid siege to hell it had been in the hopes to stop Dean from setting the apocalypse in motion, but they were too late. Dean's soul was corrupted and torn, the warmth of humanity was barely there anymore. The angels had failed in their mission, however they were given orders to bring Dean up anyway. Dean had performed great sins, but they were going to be forgiven. The apocalypse had been started by him, but he was going to be given the chance to redeem himself. His destiny was to stop what he put in motion. Dean wouldn't be able to do it alone, but angels surely couldn't do it without him. When Castiel reached him first he held the soul tight for the journey out of hell. And then he painstakingly shoved the soul back into the rotting corpse, and used a great deal of power to breathe life, to reignite the warmth of humanity into his body.

All angels knew of Dean, but not all of them had been told the destiny of the Winchester. But when Castiel told Dean another angel overheard, and the news spread. Angels that had been converted by Uriel and supported Lucifer suddenly saw a way to ensure the apocalypse would come to fruition. Kill Dean Winchester.

Heaven was a hectic place, and messages were being sent back and forth. With Uriel so recently being exposed as a traitor suspicions were high and messages were being intercepted, loyalties being questioned, and higher angels were losing faith in their subordinates. The threat to Dean Winchester did not go unnoticed, and in order to protect him from the risk Castiel's superiors were called into action.

When a more powerful angel leaves heaven it doesn't go unnoticed. Even Anna who was disconnected from heaven felt a shift of power from across the world. "Castiel. Castiel," She sent quietly out.

"I felt it too," he appeared near her. "Zachariah has left heaven, he doesn't trust any other angel to do what needs to be done right now."

"Oh no," Anna uttered, and transported herself back to Nebraska. Immediately she found Lady, she had driven a few hours south but pulled over off onto a gravel road and was sleeping in her car. Anna swooped down to earth, feeling the immense power of Zachariah approaching rapidly. Terrified that both her and Lady would be noticed she grabbed the car door and tore it completely off the car to reach Lady. Lady couldn't move fast enough to even register surprise as Anna grabbed her and transported her away to the other side of the world.

Lady had been torn from an exhausted sleep and had barely recognized that it was by Anna before she realized she was in a desert. The parched was soft and loose, her feet slid into it. "What the fuck are you doing? This shit again?"

"I'm sorry, but you were at risk," Anna said. "A very powerful angel has gone to Dean's aid, I can't be sure you can hide from him if you are that close."

"Why? Why is a big honcho coming down now?" Lady asked suspiciously.

Anna looked down, "I was going to tell you later if Dean did not tell you himself. I already told you that when Dean was in hell he tortured souls himself, he did it to spare himself after what felt like thirty years of torture. When he did that it broke the first Seal on Lucifer's cage. A righteous man draws blood in hell…that was the first Seal. For a long time Lilith had been making deals to get souls, searching for the right candidate to started. Dean was the one who started it all."

Lady shook her head, "Fuck that. Dean did not start this," she argued.

"But he did."

"This is all fucking ridiculous," Lady hissed, kicking sand and pacing shortly. "No. No, it's not right. What sick fuck made up these seals?"

"God," Anna answered. "And He also decreed that the man who broke the first Seal, who started the apocalypse, can stop it. That is why Dean was brought out of hell and resurrected, to help stop it. His well being is very important to humanity and angels. With Uriel's disobedience his safety isn't certain. A powerful angel, Zachariah, has come down to look after him. I promise you, he is safe. But you aren't safe near Zachariah."

"What about Sam?" Lady asked.

Castiel appeared, kicking up loose sand. He looked between Lady and Anna, "Zachariah has taken them to safety. Sam and Dean both, he understands that it is best to keep them together. It is too likely that Sam will be used as leverage if we leave him unprotected at this time."

"What do they have you doing, Castiel?" Anna asked.

Castiel looked down, "Nothing. I am to do nothing. Uriel and I worked together for too long, there is too much mistrust right now." Castiel looked up at Anna, "Perhaps, I can help you?"

"We could certainly use it," Anna accepted.

**A/N** - _Happy Holidays! Next few chapters are in the works but I don't know when I'll have them finished and ready to post. With the holidays, traveling, etc, not having a lot of time to write. But I've been super excited to write the upcoming chapters for a long time so I hope once I get time to sit and focus they'll just come out nicely (but when does that ever happen?). Thank you for reading and reviewing! _


	19. January 2009

_**A/N**** -** I feel awful at how long it has been without a post. I would like to say that my life is in a completely different spot than it was when I started this story. I haven't had nearly as much time to write as I used to, and I when I tried to get back into it I had to spend most of my time re-reading what I had been working on to catch myself up. So, I would like to say I haven't given up on finishing this story to season 5, however I cannot promise when new chapters are going to come out. All I can say is I'm trying, I feel bad because I know how frustrating it is when a story is left unfinished, and I hope you can forgive me and understand.  
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**January 1, 2009**

Castiel had been quietly waiting for something. He wasn't sure for what, or for whom. Anna or his superiors? Heaven, his brothers, were in turmoil. Accusations were being thrown, many at him. He knew now that some of his brethren were not with him, that they wanted their brother Lucifer to rise and to destroy the humans. However Castiel had a great fondness for humans. The Winchesters, his vessel, all of them and their unique magnificence. Because of that care he had for humans he wondered, he truly contemplated, not answering when Zachariah called him. He thought about removing his ties with heaven, going on the run with Anna, and helping them in trying to stop Lucifer.

But his loyalties were not easily broken. And he answered Zachariah promptly.

"Castiel, you seem to be back to full power," Zachariah spoke.

Castiel looked at Zachariah's visage, a large and powerful being that couldn't be described with human expressions. Without a vessel to carry him Zachariah had limited abilities outside of heaven or on any physical plane, but in heaven he was a dangerous force. If Zachariah decided Castiel was a threat he would kill him, and Castiel wasn't sure yet if he'd fight back.

"Yes, I have recovered," Castiel answered.

"I have a task for you. Nothing different than what you have been doing. I need you to watch over Dean Winchester, and his brother. They are both very important. Until I get my vessel to cooperate I can't communicate with them, and they seem to trust you. Make sure they stay put."

The next instant Castiel was put outside of a motel room, behind him the classic black Impala. He could still feel Zachariah's presence, guarding the area on a celestial level so other angels could not find the Winchesters. Without a second thought Castiel moved himself into the motel room where Sam and Dean were. Both of them were unconscious, but in pristine health after being moved by Zachariah. With a gentle thought Castiel awoke them both.

Dean sat up slowly, his injuries were only a bad memory. He closed his eyes, trying to figure out exactly what really was a memory and what was a bad dream. To his horror he realized all of it had been real.

"You are both safe. And Dean has been healed." Castiel said without emotion.

Sam stood up and crossed the room. He grabbed a piece of stationary from the dresser. "Albuquerque," he muttered when he saw the city and state.

"Yes," Castiel confirmed.

Sam moved to the window and looked outside. The Impala sitting outside gave him some comfort. The street outside was moderately busy, but looking at the condition of the cars passing and the buildings and other businesses he gauged that they were in a relatively safe neighborhood. "Seems to be a good place. We want to bunker down or you think make a run for it?" Sam looked at Dean.

Dean didn't answer. Slowly he rubbed his face. Though he knew he had been magically healed by the angel he had a horrible pain in the pit of his stomach and he felt sick. He put his head in his hands and tried to block out the rest of the world.

"Dean?" Sam tried to get his attention. "What's wrong with him?"

Castiel looked at Dean sadly, then to Sam. "He's…depressed. Maybe in some sort of shock."

"What? From what? From being healed?" Sam asked urgently.

"No, from finding out the truth," Castiel informed him. He told Sam the same thing he told Dean, how the first seal was broken and how important Dean was to the angels.

"Dean, it isn't your fault," Sam said gently.

Dean looked up, but could only briefly glance around the motel room. Sam and Castiel were both watching him. Sam's forehead wrinkled with concern, Castiel standing stoically without emotion. They had all survived, that was one thing that made waking up bearable. "Did Lady make it out?"

Castiel chose his words carefully, knowing that Zachariah was listening. "She and Anna are still…at large," Castiel used an expression that was new to him. He had learned it by observing crime drama television. He wasn't sure why he wanted to try out confusing human phrases, but the more time he spent among humans the more he picked up.

Dean resumed hiding his face in his hands, wishing he could just fall back into nothingness. He was beyond sickened with himself. He had never been so ashamed in his life, and he had done some pretty reprehensible things in the past. For a long time he thought saving lives and killing monsters could make up for some of the lesser sins he enjoyed, but there was nothing to make up for what he did in hell. There was no forgiveness, there was no taking it back, there was no fixing it. He'd destroyed everything, it was all his fault.

"You will both be safe here. Soon you can continue your work," Castiel said.

"No," Dean said roughly. "I'm done." Slowly he shook his head, "I can do this anymore. I am done."

"Dean…" Sam began.

"No. I…you can't put this on me," Dean glared at Castiel. "I can't stop this. I can't do anything. I'm done. I quit."

"Cas," Sam said in a low voice. When the angel looked at him he shook his head.

"What?" Castiel asked, not understanding Sam's nonverbal communication.

"Just leave," Sam said.

Castiel looked sympathetically at Dean, and vanished from the room.

Sam kept quiet, gauging Dean's mood by his body language. Slowly he made progress toward talking to his brother by trying to act normal. Turning on the TV, ordering a pizza, going across the street to get beers. Dean didn't eat much but drank most of the six-pack. Dean was still obviously tense, they both could feel the weight of what had happened earlier hanging over their heads, but Sam couldn't wait any longer to address it. "Guess we finally know what they meant when they said they had work for you, huh?" Sam said lightly.

Dean gave him a dark glare, then looked away shaking his head. "All I can think of…was that it was my fault. Everything."

"But it isn't," Sam assured him. Sadly he watched as Dean twisted the cap off the last beer. This was bad enough that it might be easier to let Dean drown himself in alcohol and then tend to whatever floated back up to the surface afterward.

Dean looked at Sam, almost pleading. "I can't do this anymore. I'm…I'm at the end, Sammy." Dean set his beer down, regretting the ones before and the pizza now that his stomach began to churn. Vivid memories of hell came to the front of his mind, along with the horror of torturing Alastair so recently and again feeling that heavy weight of what he had done.

Sam could see Dean's eyes going distant, the haunted look in his eyes worse than he'd ever seen it before. In an effort to distract him, to bring his brother back to him, he asked, "What would you do if you could walk away from this?"

Dean's focus landed back on Sam and for several seconds his mind was blank. All he had decided was that he wasn't strong enough to keep fighting, that he had given all he had and had failed too greatly to continue. All he knew was that he didn't want to die, after coming so close with Alastair he was sure he didn't want to die. After thinking it over he said, "If we could find Lady again we could go underground with her. She's a pro at staying off angel and demon radar."

"And what? We just wait out the end of the world?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged, "Not a perfect plan. But that's what I got so far."

XXXXX

Zachariah summoned Castiel back to heaven. "Castiel, we have a problem. We need Dean. He's a fine hunter, and he's important to our future. Why is he being uncooperative?"

"I fear emotional trauma caused by Alastair may take much more time for him to overcome," Castiel answered.

"Yeah, time we don't have. Lilith is over halfway done. Only thing that has worked in our favor is that she's running out of known seals. But it's only a matter of time. We need to get Dean back on our side and back in the game. And I have an idea on how we can do that."

"What would you have me do?" Castiel asked.

"You? Nothing. I'll handle the Winchesters from here on out. I think I know how I can get Dean back in the swing of things. As for you, I believe your innocence, Castiel, however many of our brothers do not. I think it best you step back and let us handle this," Zachariah instructed, and then left.

XXXXX

**January 1, 2009**

Lady was in a penthouse suite watching fireworks burst over Tokyo city. And she was miserable and bored. Though Anna had made sure the accommodations were very nice, Lady wasn't going to be freezing or starving, she was still stranded in a foreign land.

"Anything new?" Lady asked when Anna returned.

"Castiel should have a report soon," Anna said.

"Yeah, great. Highlight of my day, seeing Castiel," Lady said sarcastically.

"I know you don't like him, but he is helping. I trust him, he will do the right thing," Anna said confidently.

Lady shook her head but stayed quiet. She had no choice but to take the angel's help, but she never forgot he had orders to kill them and she did not like that they were giving him so much access to carry out those orders.

As predicted Castiel arrived quickly, looking the same as always with his suit and trench coat. He stood perfectly straight and proper, looking at them both. "Dean has fully recovered from his injuries, however he is refusing to go back to work or help or do anything. He took the news of what the consequences of his actions were very hard. The emotional distress is making him difficult to work with."

"Haven't you guys put him through enough?" Lady asked. "You can't just dump a guilt trip on him like this and tell him to get to work!"

"We don't have much choice," Castiel said tensely. "Zachariah has patience and…creativity. He'll work with Dean until he has recovered from the shock."

Lady narrowed her eyes on Castiel, "What do you mean creativity? I thought you were all emotionless orbs of light with a hive mind."

"That's far too generalized, Lady," Anna said. "The more powerful the angel is the more freedom they have, they are the ones that hand down orders and carry out God's plan. Zachariah has been very successful in the past."

"Zachariah is taking on a more involved role with the Winchesters, and has asked that I no longer interfere," Castiel informed them. "I have, however, been able to stay in the loop. Zachariah has a plan to keep Dean off the radar and safe. He's temporarily reassigning them and their memories, that will keep them compliant while he works to weed out other disobedient angels that may aim to kill him," Castiel said.

Lady tilted her head, "What do you mean reassigning them and their memories?"

Anna motioned to Castiel that she would answer, "Angels can alter memories. I could cause temporary amnesia with my current abilities, Castiel could certainly do more than that, but an angel as powerful as Zachariah could make you think you were someone completely different. Everything you remember about your past now would be like it never existed, and different memories would be implanted. You'd become a different person, and never know that you existed."

"My god, that's horrible," Lady gasped. "That's…disgusting, actually."

"It isn't like he really erases the person's past, we cannot change the past," Castiel explained further.

"No, but you destroy what makes someone be who they are. Their memories, their experience and lessons learned. That's wrong," Lady argued. "It's downright perverted."

"It will only be temporary," Anna assured her. "It's actually a smart move. Dean and Sam will be completely unrecognizable to all other angels, it will give heaven time to find angels that were converted by Uriel. Yes, I agree it is horrible to manipulate a person in such a way, but there is no possibility that we can stop Zachariah from doing it. He'd kill us, and Castiel for working with us." Anna looked at Castiel, "Do you know anything else?"

"He's keeping them close together. He'll put them in separate lives and let them live it with minimal interference."

Lady glared at him, "Oh…you fucking winged bastards I could…"

"Lady," Anna said sharply. "Castiel, thank you for reporting in. We'll speak again, I'm sure."

"I really hate him," Lady snarled when Castiel vanished, frustrated over his monotone and apparent indifference to Dean and Sam being turned into puppets.

"He is an ally," Anna reminded her. "I do agree with you that this isn't right."

"Would you trust Zachariah? Like you trust Castiel?" Lady asked.

For a long time Anna was silent while considering it, but finally said, "Zachariah is a loyal soldier, and reminds me very much of Uriel. So no, I would not trust him."

"Then we have to get Dean out from under his wing," Lady said.

Anna gave a shallow nod in agreement.

Over the next several days Anna kept herself tuned into angel radio and spied from afar to keep herself informed on the Winchesters and Zachariah. She discovered the brothers were taken to Cincinnati, Ohio. Their minds were reformatted to make them believe they were normal young men with jobs at the same company, though they did not know or interact with one another. Keeping them together was safer and easier to keep the magic intact. Zachariah was watching over them, no demon or known rogue angel would be able to get close to them without his knowledge. However Lady could easily cloak herself to reach Dean and rescue him. Though they doubted it would be easy.


End file.
